


Rusted Armor

by PokemonEliteAdventures



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Bede blames himself for the Darkest Day, Beet | Bede is a Little Shit, DressedinPinkShipping, Eventual Smut, Explicit Language, F/M, Gloria goes by another name and has a slightly altered description, Mutual Pining, Original male/female characters are important characters, Sinnoh remake rumors/hopes, act as foils for Bede/Gloria, bederia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:55:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 21,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25255777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PokemonEliteAdventures/pseuds/PokemonEliteAdventures
Summary: Galar has a peculiar tradition: all new gym leaders must train one summer on the Isle of Armor. For Bede and Marnie, the gym leaders of Ballonlea and Spikemuth, this is standard. Alice Teagarten, Galar's three year reigning champion, also receives an invitation during the league's off-season, and embarks for the secretive island off the coast. Hop's mission is different. Sent by Sonia, he is to join two trainers from Sinnoh in researching Galar's history, and any possible connections between dynamaxing and the two regions.Bede loved Alice since the two were challengers. Alice's whole world changed when he poured his heart out on the Wyndon pitch. Neither can admit their feelings to each other. How will they two of them survive a whole summer together?
Relationships: Beet | Bede/Yuuri | Gloria, Original Female Character/Original Male Character
Comments: 10
Kudos: 24





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> -this ship is the perfect character study for me  
> -I love it too much  
> -sorry for the cheesy names of the OCs, they've been with me since childhood and I can't bear to change them  
> -they're the characters I play the games as  
> -they have a lot of backstory that I hope to unpack as the plot develops  
> -they're not the main focus though, they just act as foil characters, and they're fun and established

The waves below shimmered in the hot summer sun. Fifty few in the air, Alice Teagarten, Galar’s reigning Champion, leaned out her Corviknight Taxi to watch them glitter. The cab bounced with each flap of the mighty Pokémon’s wings. A strong sea breeze ruff fled her blonde, bob-length hair. The Corviknight carrying her let out a scree, a sound she was quite familiar with from owning her own, and the driver hailed her from above.

“Your island has been spotted, Ms. Teagarten. Beginning descent now!”

Anticipation swelled in her chest. “Isn’t this exciting?” She turned to her best friend, Hop, who shared the cab with her.

Hop looked up from his Rotom Phone. His gold eyes were now hidden by glasses, but Alice agreed they made him look professional. He wore a deep purple tee, his lab coat tied around his hips.

“Exciting doesn’t cut it,” he said. “It’s been two years of exhibition matches and stuffy report filing since we’ve gone on an adventure. Not to mention, this is my first solo expedition as Sonia’s assistant.”

Just as Alice held her title for the last two years, Hop fledged into an extraordinary professor. He was still technically Sonia’s assistant, but she gave him more freedom to pursue his own projects, and trusted him to gather data on her research. That’s why she sent him with her to the Isle if Armor, a place far off the eastern coast of Galar, only accessible by Corviknight.

Alice shook her head. “I still can’t believe who you’ll be working with.”

“What, you mean your idol?” Hop teased. Alice punched his arm. Hop snickered. “What a shame you’ll be grueling away in that dojo while I’m hunting legendaries with Allie Elite.”

Allie Elite was the reigning Sinnoh Champion, a woman Alice argued was just as, if not more famous than herself, than Leon. It was no secret Alice admired Allie Elite as much as Hop admired his brother. How could she not? She’d gone after ever league, received honorary champion titles from every region, and she was wicked in battle. And now she was here, conducting research on behalf of the Sinnoh region, and Alice was sure she’d take on the Galar league when it started back up in the fall.

The scenery changed. Their taxi crested some bluffs and then jostled as the Corviknight stilled to a hover. Alice peered over the side again. They were slowly coming to land at the station, growing ever closer to the ground.

“Oi! What took you two? We’ve been waiting for twenty minutes.”

She snapped towards the terminal. Bede had grown in the two years since becoming Ballolea’s gym leader. At 19, his shoulders were broader, and he nearly doubled in height, but Alice noted he was already tall to begin with. His hair was more wild and airy, a harsh platinum in the sunlight, but his eyes were the same soul-piercing violet, glaring up at her rapidly descending Corviknight Taxi.

“Sorry, mate. Can only go as fast as the Corviknight flies,” Hop leaned over her to shout.

Bede pointed at Marnie, hanging over his shoulder to peak at their arrival. “You left me alone with this one gibbering my ear off.”

“Oh come off it, Fairy Prince.”

That was his title, the Fairy Prince of Ballolea. At first, Bede hated it, but the fans—well, fangirls—it brought made him grow to accept it. Alice was proud of Bede. Fully seated after Opal’s retirement, he made a name for himself. He was now Galar’s strongest gym, with Marnie a close second. What a shame his ascension went a bit to his head. He was definitely more tolerable than when they journeyed Galar at 16, but sometimes Alice wanted so desperately to bash him over the head whenever his jabs were particularly derisive.

Alice was also proud of Marnie, who claimed Pier’s place as soon as their gym challenge ended, and boy was she a force to be reckon with. Type advantage was in Bede’s favor, but she still gave him a run for his money. Marnie wore the Spikemuth jersey under her signature studded jacket, with leggings ripped up the sides and steel-toed boots. Bede was the exact opposite, striped with teal and pink Ballolea colors over his compression running gear. At least he finally found a jersey that fit him. Their bags littered the floor by their feet.

Alice and Hop disembarked, grabbed all their luggage, paid the driver his fair, and entered the station. Bede and Marnie hefted their own baggage, and together the four of them left for the Master Dojo. They had everything they needed for the weeks they’d spend in the Isle; their camping gear, cookware, plenty of medicine to take care of their teams with. Alice, per custom, led the march down the trail between the beach and the thin, coastal forest.

“So how’ve you guys been?” Hop made small talk.

“Sweating in this Arceus-damned heat while you took a Slowpoke across the ocean,” Bede answered.

“Marnie, has he been griping all day?”

“Yes,” she groaned. “Make him stop, Alice.”

Alice clicked her tongue. Of course Bede had to be difficult. It was Bede; fussy, perfectionist, sharp-tongued Bede.

“Hey, this is an honor. We’ve been invited to train at the Isle of Armor’s dojo.”

“ _You’ve_ been invited,” Bede corrected. “It’s required for gym leaders to train one summer here. And Hop’s just playing professor.”

“Excuse you,” Hop said. “Sonia couldn’t stress how important it was I make our guests from Sinnoh feel at home, and your sour face certainly won’t. So try a smile on, will ya?”

Bede scowled further. “I don’t care why she’s here. At some point she’ll be coming after our league, and I intend to be the first to stop her in her tracks.”

Marnie patted his shoulder. “We’ll hold you to it.” Bede swatted her away.

This year’s Gym Challenge would be one for the history books, if the exhibitions were any form of insight. When Bede and Raihan battled, there was fear that Wyndon stadium would collapse, all because Bede came for Raihan’s throne as soon as he was initiated and Raihan has yet to get it back. Marnie furthered the gap, a powerhouse with her traditional, non-dynamaxing team. That meant Raihan was the 6th gym challengers faced, slashing the number of semi-finalists in half. If Bede got challengers, they were the real deal, but Bede was also notorious for ending many challengers’ careers right on the cusp of success. Galarians feared fairies as much as dragons now.

“Bede, try to have a good time on the Isle,” Alice said.

Bede narrowed his eyes. “I just don’t understand why you still look up to her. You’re a champion, too, you know, and quite the unbeatable one at that.”

Oh, yes, Bede tried to break her streak. But unlike Raihan, she wasn’t busy posting to Rotogram every hour. Her throne was unobtainable, her team untouchable. When Bede and her battled, Wyndon Stadium was also at risk of falling. They sure gave the crowd a show.

The thin forest gave way to rolling fields dotted with boulders. Long grass danced in the heavy breeze rolling off the ocean.

“Do you even know where you’re going?”

“I assume we just follow the path?”

“We’re never going to find this dojo,” Bede huffed.

Alice turned on her heels. “Fine, then you’d lead.” She’d meant to jab a finger at his chest, but the affect was lost. Bede kept his chin high and smirked. Alice hated that she had to look up at him.

“I’d love to.”

“Settle it later,” Marnie said. “We’ve got company.”

The grass ahead parted, and a large Pokemon Alice didn’t recognize leapt atop one of the nearby boulders. It was blue with black fur, a star-shaped mane, and striking yellow eyes.

“A Luxray,” Hop said. “Electric-type from Sinnoh. They normally live in packs.”

Alice cautiously reached for the pokeballs at her belt, choosing her Rapidash. Its High Horsepower was her sole electric-type coverage. Bede was not as discrete, expanding one of his great balls to full size. The Luxray’s right ear twitched. It sat straight up, craned its neck back, and let out a high roar.

“Oh, they’re here! Luxray, show them the rest of the way, please?”

The woman’s voice was demure, yet enthusiastic, and drifted from far away. Luxray leapt from its perch down to the trail. To Alice, it looked like it nodded at them.

“Belongs to a trainer,” Alice said, and began to follow the Pokémon. Bede secured his pokeball on his belt with a ‘tch’.

Luxray lead them around craggy boulders and over a bridge. There, at the very top of the hill, sat the Master dojo, a grand staircase leading up to it. Between it and the river was a small camp backed to the cliffside, consisting of two tents, one large and one small, and a long picnic table. A woman with long, golden hair was tying the flaps of the larger tent open. When Luxray saw her, it roared again.

It was her: Allie Elite. The Sinnoh Champion wiped her hands on her leggings and ran to greet them. She wore running shorts over them, a tank top with a high collar, and like Hop, a pink jacket wrapped around her waist. Luxray settled at her feet.

“Glad you made it here safe. I have to say, I’ve never rode a taxi like that before, but I’m sure you’re all used to them.”

“Your Pokémon nearly gave us a heart attack,” Bede quipped. “You do know those run wild here?”

Alice stomped on his toes.

“Ow!”

“Ignore him. He didn’t get a full eight hours of beauty sleep.”

Allie’s eyes were an incredibly bright blue when she finally fixed them on her. “You must be Galar’s champion,” she said. She shook Alice’s hand with both of hers. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Alice Teagarten. Allie Elite at Galar’s service.”

“P-pleasure's mine!” Alice exclaimed. She shot a glare in Bede’s direction, making him fear she’d break his toes next.

“And you must be Hop. Sonia’s told me all about you. Pleasure to work with you.” Hop took Allie’s hand next. He laughed shyly.

“Hope she left out any embarrassing details.”

“Oh, no. She said your research into Galarian forms and this Dynamax phenomenon you have here is extraordinary.” She pulled out a notebook. Its pages were marked by colorful tabs, with pieces of loose-leaf filed away in different sections. “This is where I’ve been keeping everything. If you don’t mind, I’d like your opinion on it.”

Hop beamed from ear to ear. “Of course!”

A lump formed in Alice’s throat when she moved to Bede. “Sonia mentioned two others. You must be-”

“Bede, fairy-type specialist of Ballolea stadium.” He gave her hand one curt shake. Somehow, Allie wasn’t put off by it.

“And I’m Marnie, dark-type specialist of Spikemuth.” She thrust her hand forward. Alice knew she was saving face on her behalf.

“Well, now that that’s all said and done,” Allie mulled. “Hop, this is our research base. I have everything we need set up in the main tent over there, including a Rotomi terminal and mobile Pokémon Center. I’m still getting the machines up and running, but see me later if your Pokemon need healing.”

“Thanks,” Alice said. Allie smiled and scratched Luxray behind the ear. She found it amusing how the menacing Pokémon went Litten-soft from her touch. “Your Luxray is beautiful, by the way.”

“Thank you. He’s a veteran. One of the first Pokemon I ever trained.”

Bede cleared his throat. “Are they waiting for us at the dojo?”

“Oh, yes,” Allie said. “The dojo master said there was no rush, but I do want you to check in. I just have one person I’d like you to meet before you go. Let me give him a call.”

A Rotom Phone zipped out of her pocket. Allie didn’t touch it; she had whoever it was on speed dial. It rang twice, then the whip of wind buffeted the speaker.

“Zac?”

“Yeah,” they shouted. “What’s up?”

“...where are you?”

“Honestly, I don’t even know. I just let Latios take me.”

Allie tapped her foot. “Well, the trainers Professor Sonia mentioned are here, and I’d like for you to meet them.”

“Be right there,” he said, and hung up. Her phone flew back in her pocket.

“He’s joking, right?” Allie pinched her brow. “I'm sorry. I shouldn’t be wasting your time. Head up to the dojo. Hop, if you want to stay here, I can get you acquainted with my set-up.”

“Hey, it happens. Don’t feel bad,” Hop said.

Bede was all too eager. Alice had half the mind to pull him back by his collar. She was used to his arrogance, but it kicked into a different gear when he met trainers from other regions, especially those with standing. For Bede, it had to do with pride; pride in his region, pride in himself. He had to prove in the eyes of the world what Galar was worth.

He barely reached the stairs when a sound like revved thunder deafened the skies above. A wicked blue blur whizzed out the mouth of a nearby cave, spraying water from the river up on the banks and disappearing behind some bluffs.

“He really meant it,” Allie said.

“Is that?”

“Zac!”

And then Allie was gone, lifted into the air by the man riding the blurry blue Pokemon. Papers flew everywhere. Hop scrambled to collect them. Alice was left with her mouth hanging open.

Zac did one loop over camp and landed. He jumped off the back of Latios while Allie stumbled. Latios cooed, offering his wing to steady her.

“Hiya. I’m Zac.” He took his cap off to fix his windswept hair, putting it on backwards. Zac Shiamoto was a long-time traveling companion of Allie’s, and briefly, one of her rivals, but he was better known by the media and gossip magazines as Allie’s fiancé. Alice would know. She read her fair share.

“You own a Latios?” Hop said. He handed back Allie’s notebook, each rogue paper slotted back between its pages. Allie accepted it graciously.

“He was my dad’s,” Zac patted the Pokémon’s head. “Perfect for getting where you need to go quickly. I’m sorry, what are your names?”

Allie took her book and thwacked him upside the head with it. Zac rubbed the back of his scalp. “Do you always have to do that?”

“What, I was scouting for any clues about legendary Pokémon.”

She secured the notebook to her belt with some straps. “Find anything?”

“No.” He played with the zipper of his navy-blue hoodie. “I may have gotten a bit distracted.”

Hop stretched his arms and flashed a smile at Alice. “It looks like they need a bit of help here. You guys have fun at the dojo. Can’t wait to hear all about it when you get back!”

* * *

“What an honor it is for the Master Dojo to host not one, but two of Galar’s strongest gym leaders, as well as the champion. Feel free to use any of our facilities. Showers are to the left, kitchen is to the right. We even have an _onsen_ out back. Training starts tomorrow. For now, just find a place to settle.”

The Dojo Master appeared old and frail, and not entirely there in Alice’s opinion, but Hop said this was the same man who trained Leon, so she gave him the benefit of the doubt. Bede and Marnie sat on either side of her.

“So, where do we stay?” Bede asked.

“Pardon?”

“Our accommodations?” He’s always been blunt and to-the-point

“Ah, well you brought camping gear, yes? After all, gym leaders master one type, and the best way to do that is to convene with the elements. Now, excuse me, but I’m going to have a nice bowl of soup for lunch. See you bright and early tomorrow.”

He bowed. Alice was the first to stand up and bow back. Once he disappeared into the kitchen, Bede made an abrupt turn for the door.

“I’m going to sleep on the ground for the next two months?” He was fuming.

“I told you to bring a mattress,” Alice said.

“I did!” Bede responded. “But I was hoping I wouldn’t have to use it.”

“I’m fine with camping,” Marnie said. “After all, the darks my thing. He did say to convene with our elements.”

Bede snorted. “Hold on, let me find a fairy ring to set my tent up in.”

“Be happy you have running water and plumbing,” Marnie said back. “What would you do if you couldn’t put product in those luscious curls of yours.”

Bede yanked the door open, escaping the dojo first. “You’re confusing me with your brother.”

Heat blasted Alice in the face. Out on the horizon, towering clouds stretched high. Maybe Bede was warranted. Camping here was bound to be brutal.

“The two of ya weep whenever the temperature gets above 70,” Marnie continued. “Look, those two are from Sinnoh, and they ain’t even breaking a sweat.”

Zac dumped a heap of firewood inside their pit and glanced up at Marnie’s comment. A Sceptile stood beside him, sweeping kindle in with its tail. He shed his hoodie for the black tee underneath, but other than that appeared unaffected.

“Zac’s from Hoenn,” Alice corrected.

“Of course you’d know that,” Bede said.

“Shut up, Lewandowski.”

“Make me, Teagarten.”

Hop emerged from the research tent with Allie in tow. Despite Marnie’s previous comment, the Sinnoh Champion had sweat beading her forehead.

“How’d it go?” She asked

Alice spoke before Bede had the chance. “Great. Training starts tomorrow, we just have to find a place to set up camp.”

“So we will be camping?” Hop said.

Bede grumbled. “Unfortunately.”

Alice was over Bede’s misery and she’d barely been with him for an hour. How would the two of them survive a whole summer together? “We’re going to want to stay close to the dojo for the bathrooms, and so Hop’s not far away if you need him, unless you planned to have him set up here?”

Allie motioned across the field. A rocky outcrop created a perfect, confined campground between it and the cliffs, protecting from the worst of the wind. “Why don’t you set up camp across from us.”

“You’d really let us?”

Allie dismissed her with a wave. “Of course! The more the merrier. I’m tired of only seeing Zac’s face, anyway.”

Zac snapped up from lining the pit with stones. “Hey!”

Alice searched for approval. Hop was all for it. Marnie had no qualms, and as for Bede, while he detested the very idea, the set-up was ideal. He’d have to grin and bear it like when Opal first chose him to succeed her. She smiled.

“Then we accept.” And they got to work making camp.

Bede threw his heavy duffle bag across the ground. Alice set up next to him, snickering as he fought with his tent poles. He’d never been good at the whole camping thing. She could pitch her tent blindfolded, thanks to many treks through the Wild Area.

“Can I help you?” she offered.

Bede shot her a glare. “I don’t need help.”

His mishappen tent said otherwise.

Alice chuckled and drove a stake into the ground. “Okaaay.”

Bede contemplated punting her sleeping bag into the ocean, but no, that wouldn’t be nice. He was supposed to be a better man now. “Did you have to set up right next to me?” he asked.

“Would you rather be next to Marnie? You can hear her music through her headphones,” Alice said. “And Hop snores.”

There was a loud crash and clatter of metal-on-metal. Alice looked just in time to watch their curry pot roll down the hill, Hop dashing after it. Marnie glanced up meekly, all there cookwear by her feet, holding the sack they carried it in.

“I may have picked it up the wrong way,” she said.

Bede groaned and chucked all his gear inside his haphazardly constructed tent. Alice made a note to fix it when he wasn’t looking, else it collapsed in the middle of the night and Ballolea had to find a new gym leader prematurely.

“That’s it, I’m not cooking for any of you.” Bede disappeared, zipping up behind him. Alice rolled her eyes.

“This is going to be one hell of a trip.” Above, the sun baked her black champions uniform, and the vinyl was already hot to the touch.

Welcome to the Isle of Armor.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bede fully intends to train on the Isle. He's a creature of habit, and likes to stick to his routines. The Isle disagrees.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Bede has such a fun perspective to write from  
> -some OC backstory, too  
> -I had to do it to him

After camp was made, a fire stoked, and Hop retrieved their runaway curry pot, Alice wanted to explore. It was very much like her, leading the charge into the unknown, Hop at her side, Bede and Marnie either one step ahead or behind them. Like when they were all Challengers. They had time to kill, and Hop had to learn the layout of the land, anyway, so they set off as a group. They poked around some caves, wandered through wetlands, a sprawling forest, and, when the sun started sinking, they doubled back to the beach. Over dinner, Allie commented how the swamps reminded her of a town in Sinnoh with peculiar fondness. Bede thought they smelled of methane and muck, no fondness to be heard.

“Thanks for the food,” Alice had said as Allie dished out curry stew with plenty of potatoes. They were famished, feet sore and stomachs empty from their outing.

“Eat up. There’s plenty,” Allie said.

Bede took one bite and felt every ounce of moisture leave his tongue. The food was unbelievably dry. Allie caught the face he made. “Something wrong?”

“Not that its not good,” Bede waved his fork around. “It just…lacks flavor.”

Alice elbowed him in the ribs. He slammed his fist down, rattling their plates.

“I’m going to charge you with assault if you keep hitting me.”

Alice was too busy licking her fork to care. “I think it tastes fine and you need to get over yourself.”

“No, he’s right,” Zac spoke up. He sat across from them, poking at his food.“The potatoes are dry. What did you put in the roux?”

Allie muttered. “I may have used too many coba berries and not enough tamato.”

“Ah, that will do it.”

“You can cook tomorrow, then.”

“I will. Hope you like spicy food,” Zac laughed.

“My man,” Hop said, and fist-bumped him. “Can’t wait to try it.”

Allie stabbed a potato and offered it to her Pokemon. Luxray gave it a sniff. The Lycanroc next to him ate it clean off her fork.

“Lycanroc will eat it,” she claimed.

“Lycanroc will eat anything,” Zac said as he sprinkled salt and pepper.

Bede tucked into his meal, trying his best to ignore the two Sinnoh trainers. How annoying, he thought, to be caught up in their petty spousal arguments. And yet, it was ironic, calling them petty when all he ever did was make his champion bristle with quips. Bede eyed her, shoveling potato and carrot and chopped coba in her mouth like a Greedunt. He always wondered where her appetite came from. And how her hair managed to look like waves of caramel, and if the scar that stretched across her nose to her cheek ever hurt with phantom pain. With how stuffed her cheeks were, it couldn’t. Again, much like a Greedunt. Maybe the Galar Champion was actually a Greedunt, and maybe, just maybe, Bede wasn’t frustrated with their visitors from Sinnoh, but with himself.

But Bede, with his unyielding shield of pride and charisma, would never admit such an outlandish thing, and silenced all thoughts with another mouthful of dry, flavorless starch.

* * *

Bede hated sweat. It was why he woke up so early to train. He rose before the sun to jog a mile through Glimwood Tangle, or on the Isle of Armor, through Courageous Cavern, along the coast, and into the Forest of Focus. He found a clearing next to the river there with plenty of room to drill his team. After an hour of morning exercises, he stopped for a water break on one of the flat rocks by the riverbank.

“Hey Rapidash, we need to work on the accuracy of your Zen Headbutt.”

Rapidash looked up from drinking. Of its four moves, Play Rough, Drill Run, Smart Strike, and Zen Headbutt, the psychic-type one was least likely to hit. Which was a problem, considering it countered poison. Rapidash bowed, and Bede stroked his muzzle.

“Find a space where we can run through it a few times. I’ll get the poketoy.”

His Pokemon trotted off to join the rest. Sylveon and Mawile were sparring. Hattarene and Gardevoir meditated their psychic abilities, and Togekiss did maneuvers through the high branches. He had a good team, with plenty of type coverage. He took out his phone to take notes on their progress and re-read comments he left from last time.

Except, instead of opening his notes app, he tapped on Rotogram because of the annoying number of notifications in the corner. 153. How had he gotten 153 notifications overnight? Thermos to his lips, Bede scrolled. They were all from the photo he posted last night. It was of the sunset, the sky brilliant pink, the waves orange and purple. The sun had perfectly aligned with this arched island on the horizon, like some sort of sun dial. There were no people, not tagged location. Bede didn’t even leave a comment. And yet, his fans had swarmed it with likes and comments of their own, saying things like “magical” and “so pretty!” and “Bede, take me with you <3.”

Bede’s relationship with his fans was...tricky. Opal’s following clung to him religiously, as they had with her. They weren’t his issue. In fact, he preferred the old ladies who had tea with his mentor to the newer fans he attracted. They were rabid. Overly obsessed with him. Bede wouldn’t put it passed them to go through the rubbish for a tissue he sneezed in. They definitely kept shrines. Bede shuddered. He didn’t post pictures of himself much because he feared the comments they would leave. At first, he found some flattering. It was nice to be told he was good looking. But when “I want to have your babies” started flooding the comments section, Bede got thoroughly creeped out.

He blotted his forehead with a cloth. The curls that framed his face were damp. And he cursed the humidity. It was time to ditch his running gear. He just hated how pale and knobby his knees were.

Bede kept scrolling, sipping water and blotting both his face and neck to cool down before the next hour of his work-out. He stopped over an old photo of Alice’s, the last one posted before they left. Alice had a PR team. She was the champion, after all. Bede could always tell when Alice posted and when her team told her what to post. Alice posted way too many pictures of her Pokemon, and food, and of herself training with Hop or Marnie. Her team curated pictures from shoots or on the pitch at Wyndon. This photo was one of those. She sat on a throne inside Hammerlocke Vault, her Pokemon fanned around her like knights. Cinderace and Toxtricity flanked each side. Her Dragapult slithered over the back of her chair. Both Corviknight and Frosmoth were mid-flight, and her own Rapidash kneeled before her. It was to promote the return of the gym challenge in September.

Bede couldn’t get over how steely her gaze was, or how she held her chest out so the champion logo on her uniform could be seen clearly. Her expression made him bite his lip. Unwavering, steady glare, head held high, no trace of a smile. She looked unbeatable. And yet, Bede was going to come for her title like he did every year. It was tradition. Once, it had been Leon and Raihan. Now, it was Alice and Bede.

There was a reason Bede was never in Alice’s posts. The last time he was, she received death threats. It was a picture of them out for a ride on their Rapidash. Alice had thrown up a peace sign. Bede was in the background, rolling his eyes. She was urged to take it down because of Bede’s own fans. When Bede found out, he was livid, so livid, in fact, he took the same photo, cropped himself out, and posted just Alice to his page. He left a comment saying “If any of you have a problem with the champion, don’t come to my gym.” His numbers dropped that week. He started a war within his own fan base, and had to sit through hours of PR retraining as consequence, but it was worth it. Even if his post was eventually deleted.

Bede would throw his popularity away in a heartbeat if Alice were at stake. Sometimes, he thought about shocking Galar for a second time and kissing her right on the pitch after an exhibition, so all his crazy fans would shove off. Snogging her on national television, thousands of people watching as he made a statement; proud, proper Bede claimed the champion as his, the next day’s headlines would read.

His cheeks burned, that’s how deeply he blushed. He leaned into the river to splash his face.

“Imbecile. Focus on your training,” Bede scolded under his breath. Water dripped from his nose and scattered his reflection. “You’ll never get anywhere by daydreaming about _that_.”

Retrieving the poketoy from his bag, Bede sprung up, shaking the flush from his veins and steadying his heart with a few deep breaths. “Oi, Rapidash. Line up.” His Pokemon responded by scuffing his hooves on the ground.

* * *

Rays of sun barely broke through the canopy when Bede was ready to wrap up and head back to camp. Not wanting to miss breakfast, he slung his bag across his chest and prepared his team to return to their balls. He was irritable with caffeine; without his morning coffee, he’d be downright loathsome.

He almost missed them downstream; two trainers and a Latios graced in morning light, surveying the land from atop a boulder. Allie caught him staring and waved. In an instant, she and Zac were on the back of the legendary Pokémon, flying towards him. Bede groaned.

“What does she want?”

Returning his team was no longer an option. They stiffened as the dragon pulled up along the riverbank. Bede’s rivalry with Raihan trained them well, but made coexisting with Alice’s Dragapult impossible. Zac must have felt his own Pokémon tensed. He gave it a pat, then eyed the six powerful fairy-types encircling Bede.

“I’m going to head back and start breakfast. Can you handle the trip on foot?” he said.

Allie hoped off, either oblivious or willfully ignoring the tension in the air. “I have my Braviary.”

“Right,” he said. He glanced at Bede. “Bede, you like eggs?”

Truthfully, he only liked egg whites, but he didn’t trust the scruffy-looking guy to separate a yolk. “I’m not opposed to them.”

Zac took that as a yes and nodded. Unlike yesterday, he coaxed Latios gently into the sky. Once safely overhead, the pair took off like a rocket.

“Speed demons, the both of them,” Allie muttered. Her hair today was done down in a thick, loose braid. Bede wondered how she got so much hair to cooperate, when his was relatively short and flicked out everywhere like Espurr fluff.

“Did you need something?”

“No,” Allie said. She made herself at home on one of the flat stones and whipped out her notebook. With the dragon gone, Bede’s team settled, and he sat down across from her with his chin in his palm. “Just a few questions I wanted your opinion of.”

Bede hated when people asked him questions. Especially if they were about himself. “If it’s about whatever your researching, you're out of luck. I don’t know much about the Pokémon outside of Galar."

“It’s not,” she said. That’s not what Bede wanted to hear.

“Then what? Before we miss breakfast.”

Allie laughed. “Zac’s not that quick. I’d bet money he’s still flying through the clouds on the back of his jet-bird.”

She flipped open her notebook to a clean page. Bede didn’t miss the way she eyed his Pokémon and reached for the pen behind her ear. He would never understand why Alice admired this woman. She was just another trainer. Blind faith only every got people in trouble, and he should be the prime example. Just look at what he did for Chairman Rose. Look what it got him. Her face was forever marred because of it.

The man never even knew his name.

“Alice told me you recently became a gym leader,” Allie said.

He screwed his lips in a scowl. Not entirely what he expected. “I wouldn’t say recent. I’ve been a specialist as long as she’s been champion. I started my training at sixteen. Ms. Opal officially handed the gym over on my eighteenth birthday.”

“Ah, so that’s how succession works here. Interesting.” Bede heard the scratch of pen on paper. He watched her pen fly.

She was taking notes.

“Are you related to this, what was her name, Ms. Opal?”

“Why do you find it so pertinent to know?” Bede barked the words. What right did she have, asking if his position as gym leader was the result of nepotism, and so early in the morning?

Her pen froze. Allie kept her head down. “I’m sorry. I could have worded that better.” The hollow filled with her anxious tapping.

Bede crossed his arms. “Yes, you could have. Now, why do you need to know my personal relations?”

“I’m worried for the Sinnoh League, that’s all. It has nothing to do with personal relations,” she answered. Bede couldn’t see her eyes through her bangs, didn’t trust her. At least, he didn’t want to. “More than one member is looking to retire. Alice told me you’d been through the process most recently, so I wanted to ask you about it.”

He instantly felt shame bristle beneath his skin with the power of an electric current. He blamed his outburst on caffeine withdrawal and her Sinnohan accent. She didn’t pronounce her ‘a’ the same way. Each sentence felt like a code he had to decipher. Worst of all, there was the ghost of an elbow in his rib and a crunch on his toes. He only feared two women: Alice and Ms. Opal. He included Marnie when she wasn’t fed.

“As the champion, they look to me. So I figured I’d see how Galar handled their league since the gym challenge is so integral to your region.” From what Bede knew of the other regions, Sinnoh was not the picture of youth. Allie was the youngest in her league, and their Elite Four had someone as old as Opal. He couldn’t imagine her in a position like that, the stress of those battles on her bones.

“Galar doesn’t have a traditional league, though. We’ve no Elite Four, just a round-robin between the gym leaders, semi finalists, and champion,” Bede said. His curiosity got the better of him. “Who’s looking to retire?”

“Bertha of our Elite Four,” Allie explained. “She’s…up there. She has to sit for most of her battles, and her dementia is, well, it’s getting worse.” Allie remembered Bettha’s most recent battle. She commanded Hippowdon, with its sole ability Sand Stream, to use Sandstorm not once, not twice, but three times. The challenger got through, but she wiped the floor with his team. “Not to mention, Cynthia would like to stop watching the league for me.”

The similarities pained Bede. He saw Alice in the same position, faced with tough choices had Opal never made him her protégé. And Opal. The other day she forgot she owned an Alcremie, adamant the Pokemon wasn’t hers. Bede excused himself to cry hot, angry tears in the bathroom because he was powerless to stop both time and death. She felt like his real grandmother, the closest to family he ever had, and he would inevitably lose her.

Opal’s boot camp was rigorous, both emotionally and physically, but despite that, Bede still found it hard to voice empathy.

“She deserves a break, you know?” Allie said.

Bede grunted. His gaze drifted to his Pokemon mulling about. Sylveon, with its rare blue coat and pink eyes, had been a gift from Opal, which hurt him further. She knew a peculiar breeder. “You’re the champion, though. Surely you’ve someone in mind?”

Bede kept an air about his voice, tried to stay haughty and distant to remind himself this was someone he was supposed to dislike. Her answer shocked him.

“It’s Zac.”

Zac did not strike Bede as responsible, or skillful, or truly any hallmark of an elite, but Bede’s first impression of him was not the best: a careless trainer racing a legendary Pokémon he didn’t even catch. Bede would be elite material, too, if he had the power of legends on his team.

“No offense, but he doesn’t seem like the kind to go mono-type,” was how Bede said it nicely.

“He’s not, and neither am I,” Allie said. “But if you include the type of his Sceptile when in mega form, he has two dragons.”

A dragon trainer. Of course. You don’t need talent to pummel everything with Outrage.

“So, the Sinnoh league uses Mega Evolution?” Bede wanted to gain every bit of intel he could on her for when she eventually came knocking on his gym doors. To his surprise, Allie shook her head.

“Zac and I use Mega Evolution. We got keystones while in Kalos. But megas aren’t within our league regulations,” she said. “It all needs an overhaul; the rules, the leaders, the very gyms themselves. The Sinnoh league’s dying. We’re fading from people’s memories.”

Again, there was that empathy creeping back. Bede shoved it away with a swipe of his hair. The woman in front of him was another rival, a title snatcher, someone who wanted his badge and Alice’s glory.

“So why are you here then, Ms. Elite, and not rebuilding your region?”

Allie huffed. “They sent me. Guess they thought Galar might give me some ideas.” Bede heard a click. Her pen touched paper again, and she went back to studying his Pokémon. “And please, Ms. Elite is my mother.”

She wrote quick bullet-points and seemed overly fond of his Rapidash, confused about his Hatterene. Bede didn’t like any of it. He was supposed to be the analytical one who broke people down to their bare strategies, who asked impossible questions like “what ability let’s moves like Bullet Seed hit five times” and then manipulate stats in his favor.

“This isn’t just about my succession, is it?” Bede said.

She finally tucked that damned pen back behind her ear with a sigh. “Alice also mentioned you prefer the psychic-type.”

Bede drummed his fingers on the rock. He was missing breakfast. A quiet moment to sip his coffee before Hop woke up. He was missing Alice stumbling for a mug in an oversized shirt and bedhead, sending an arrow straight through his heart.

Alice. Allie.

Why did their names have to be so similar?

“What you want is advice on how to do what you don’t want to?” he asked. He didn’t miss how her eyes went wide. “I didn’t want to be the fairy gym leader. I had no other choice. I’m thankful two of my original team evolved to have the fairy-type so I had a compromise.” He nodded towards his Pokemon. “Obviously, I had a quick change of heart. But back when Ms. Opal chose me, I only did it to get stronger.”

Hatterene appeared next to him. On the surface, she seemed tranquil, but her tentacle looped around his shoulders. That was her way of saying she’d felt enough of his zigzagging emotions. He had to wrap their conversation up, quick.

“Zac doesn’t want to do it, does he?”

“Zac would do it for me,” Allie said. “But I don’t want that to be his reason. I want him to do it for himself. Because he’s strong, and he deserves it, and he can.” He watched her pull out a necklace and graze the pendant. There was a thin, silver ring strung beside it. “That’s why you stayed, right? Look where it got you.”

Bede nodded. He’d never tell her the real reason; that he stayed in for Alice. She didn’t want to see him give up on his dreams, but his dreams had shifted since then. Bede knew the chairmen put visions of the champion title in his head so he could become his puppet. He couldn’t be champion. What Alice dealt with on a daily basis was pure hell to him, all those interviews and people and _questions_. That would never stop him from challenging her every year.

Bede wasn’t quite sure what he dreamed of anymore. He had what he wanted; absolute recognition. However, some nights he dreamed of Alice, and woke up hugging his pillow instead.

“Thank you, Bede. I’ll think differently about this now,” Allie concluded. She dropped the pendant to her chest. “By the way, you have a fantastic team. I have to get one of these Galarian Rapidash. We’ve got the Kantonian variant in Sinnoh. And that’s a Hatterene, yes?”

Hearing her name prompted Hatterene to warp from Bede’s side to Allie. Bede reached for her ball at his belt just in case, but all Hatterene did was plucked the pen from her ear. She fiddled it between her three fingers, turning it over, making small, dissatisfied noises as she did. Bede held his breath.

Allie, like all champions Bede knew, seemed oblivious to danger. “Is she normally a curious one?”

In response, Hatterene crushed the pen to pieces. She chucked the offending object in the flowing river. Allie made a feeble grab for it, but it disappeared beneath the eddies.

“Hatterene, please don’t litter,” Bede scolded. Hatterene warped away with a satisfied hum.

“D-did I do something wrong?”

“Hatterene hates strong emotions,” Bede explained. “Growing up with me increased her tolerance, but she still has her moments.”

Allie still gawked at the river. “So, the opposite of a Gardevoir?”

“Very much the opposite of a Gardevoir.”

Bede was sure she would have loved to write that down. He stood, stretching the backs of his calves after sitting for so long. He was done with the forest. “Do you think he’s done cooking by now?”

“Oh, yes.” Allie stood after him, looping her notepad back to her hip, sans pen. “Let’s head back. How do you travel?”

Rapidash gave a distressed call before he answered. Bede looked just in time to see a massive, red and black centipede trample its way into the clearing. His team bristled and scattered. He’d never seen that Pokémon on the mainland.

“There’re Scolipede here?” Allie said.

Her tone and the ferocity she ripped a ball from her belt made Bede’s blood cold. “What type is it?”

“Bug and poison.”

Just his luck.

“Everyone return, now!” Bede held out two balls, recalling Sylveon and Togekiss. The Scolipede hissed violently, the antennae on its head glowing purple with poison. “Mawile, Gardevoir!”

It charged with Poison Jab, and Bede was just able to envelop his Pokémon in light before it made contact. Rapidash stomped around the hollow, threatening the menace with his horn, while Hatterene hissed. A Salazzle appeared before Allie, feet and tail glowing with magenta flames.

“Hatterene, Mystical Fire!”

Embers encircled the tip of her tentacle, and she shot forth a fiery stream. Scolipede countered with a burst of quills.

“Bede, look out!”

It all happened so fast.

Rapidash hollered, having taken the worst of the attack. Bede buckled at the knees. Three long, white-hot barbs had lodged themselves in his thigh, burning like a thousand suns. He choked on his agony.

“Salazzle, Flamethrower!” Allie’s command was furious, vindictive. The Scolipede disappeared behind a blazing inferno. Bede heard it crash away through the undergrowth. “Bede!”

His head was too scattered to resist the shoulder she offered, torn between the poison seeping into his system and staying calm enough to not throw Hatterene into a fury. Allie guided him to the rocks they’d been sitting at no more than five minutes prior. Every time he put pressure on his heel, pain shot up his leg.

“Recall your Rapidash. It’s hurt,” Allie said. She rummaged through her bag and pulled out a pecha berry. “Eat this.”

Bede managed a scoff. “I’m not a Pokémon.”

“It will stave off the poisoning until we can give you a proper antidote at camp. Eat it.”

He flinched when she touched his outer thigh. Bede attempted to pull one of the needles out, only to recoil at the sting it caused his fingers.

“Stop, you’ll spread it further,” Allie said. She moved aside and let her Salazzle examine his injuries. “I can take them out here, but its going to hurt. The barbs were hooked the opposite way.”

“Is that advisable?” He knew how to cure his Pokémon, but a human poisoning, and from a Pokémon unknown to him? Bede was lost.

“The longer they stay in, the more poison your body absorbs.”

Time was ticking. Bede bit down on the pecha fruit, returned Rapidash, and called Hatterene to his side. “Just do it before I die.”

Salazzle clamped down like a vice on the first one. Bede felt his skin tug with it. Tears sprung in the corner of his eyes. He kept telling Hatterene he was fine, just _fine_ , through unconvincingly clenched teeth. The whole ordeal left Bede seeing white, his leg a bloody mess, three perfect punctures wounds staining his clothes red. Allie tied some cloth around it like a tourniquet.

“You know a way to get back to camp besides flying?” Allie asked.

Bede turned to Hatterene. His chest trembled, and he felt hot everywhere, like fire had slithered into his veins. “Teleport us.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bede feels weak and feverish, and the last thing he wants is two strangers playing doctor with him, but he doesn't have a choice. How'd he manage to get poisoned his first day on the Isle?  
> So much for the dojo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Aaahhh I'm so happy to already see feedback, this is the first time I've done anything like this  
> -this chapter feels a little long and has some OC backstory again, so sorry in advance  
> -Bede has insecurities and he's a great character to tackle topics like that with, imo  
> -enjoy!

Their sudden apparition back at camp startled everyone from the breakfast table. The poison had weakened Bede to the point he needed Allie’s full support to stand. He quickly recalled Hatterene before the commotion made her homicidal.

“Bloody hell,” Hop exclaimed. “Bede, what happened to you?”

“Fucking poison-type Pokémon,” Bede slurred. He really wanted to spit the words, but his fine motor skills were failing.

“Marnie, call Alice.”

A furtive glance confirmed Alice was nowhere in camp. Where was she? Was she out there by herself, in a cave, in the water, with Arceus-knows what? What if she was hurt?

Bede forced a deep, sharp breath into his lungs. Alice was the champion. She had six powerful Pokémon with her. She was fine.

Bede, on the other hand, was not.

Zac leapt at an instant and followed them both into the research tent. It was lined with books and rolling chalkboards, a rotomi terminal and mobile Pokémon Center. Against the back wall was a lone cot and a collapsible shelf stocked with medicine, next to a muck sink.

“What got him?” Zac asked. He went straight to the sink to wash his hands.

Allie dumped him on the cot. “Scolipede. Three stings to his right leg. His Pokémon took the worst of it.”

“I’ll heal them, as well, after I get an antidote inside him.”

Bede gained enough sense to sit up and voice concern.

“You,” he pointed at Zac. Curse his trembling lips. “You’re the one poking needles in me?”

Zac shared a look with Allie. “We’re both certified in field medicine. If you trust Allie more, that’s fine, but everything you’re wearing underneath has to come off to clean the wound and administer a catheter.”

Defeated, Bede fumbled his belt. Allie took that as her cue to leave, drawing the flaps behind her. “Get started. The poisons already been in him for a few minutes.”

Bede was determined to take his own clothes off. He struggled a bit, but he eventually removed both shirts. His belt and all his pokeballs clattered to the floor alongside his pants. Zac had the courtesy to pick his jersey and shorts from the pile and hand them to him. Bede had never been so scandalized in his life.

“Right or left?” Zac asked.

“Right. Left is my dominant.”

Zac wiped the bend of his elbow with alcohol. He gave Bede quick, sharp commands, like he’d done this at least once.

“Make a fist,” he said, and poked around for a vein. Bede looked away as he lined the needle up. “Slight pinch.”

Bede snorted. Try having three-inch barbs yanked from your thigh by a lizard. The catheter went in smoothly, and Zac retrieved a vial of antidote from the shelf. He drew it with another syringe and used the catheter to inject it.

“I’ll give you another dose in two minutes, another after that. You’re going to be fine.”

“I never thought for one second I was going to die,” Bede lied.

Zac returned with a bottle of peroxide and gauze. “You were white as a sheet when you walked in.”

“As if I get darker than this,” Bede said. He used sunscreen liberally. An hour in direct sun would fry him beyond functioning. Worse; it brought out his freckles.

There was no way Bede was envious of Zac’s healthy tan, a combination of glowing skin and golden eyes that seemed to only come from Hoenn. Bede had a fine set of features. He’d been gifted with a button nose and Cupid’s bow and his violet eyes. He was just pale. And knobby.

All thoughts came to a screeching halt when Zac administered the antiseptic.

“Bloody fucking hell,” Bede hissed. “Are you actively trying to kill me with that?”

Zac was starting to regret taking Bede on as a patient. “You’ve got three deep puncture wounds. What did you expect?”

After the initial jolt, Bede’s wounds were dressed without incident. Zac sealed it with a large bandage to stop infection. He gave Bede his second dose of antidote, and just waited on the third.

“Do you want help putting that on?” he asked.

Bede ran his jersey between his fingers. The fabric was soft, contour conforming. He’d finally come down from the adrenaline high and felt bleary and sluggish. “I can make it until the catheter’s out.”

“You’re in luck. ‘Bout to come out now.”

Zac stooped to give him his final dose as Bede heard voices approach the tent.

“Seriously? It’s been a day. One day, and he’s already gone and gotten himself poisoned.”

Alice was back. Bede’s heart raced once more. Like the dolt she was, she was going to storm in, throw the curtains aside to scream at him, and he was—he was in his underwear. Zac could not possibly administer the antidote any slower.

“I asked if you wanted to get dressed,” he said.

Bede did the only thing her could; he lumped his jersey in his lap to cover himself.

“Oi, you arse, what the hell happened?!”

The tent flew open and Alice appeared, backlit by the morning sun. She took one look at his predicament and Bede swore she went flush, but how could he tell? The sun was in his eyes.

Bede was not thinking properly.

“Get out, you absolute moron! I don’t have pants on!”

She turned on a dime, creating blinders with her hands to stop from seeing any more. Bede felt his own cheeks go crimson. Why did she have to be so impulsive? So abrupt? So oblivious?

The removal of the catheter distracted him. Zac placed a cotton wad over it and told Bede to hold it there.

“You’ll want to lay down for a bit,” Zac advised. “The antidote will make you real tired.”

Bede finally crawled back into his shorts. The simple act took colossal effort. “I have to report to the Dojo soon.”

“I think they’ll understand why you can’t make it.”

Hot in the face, Bede adjusted his position to sleep the poison off.

* * *

Bede slept feverishly. He woke in bouts of sweat, then rapid chills, and he hallucinated. Alice and Hop and Marnie swirled around his head, and at one point Hatterene crouched over his face. When he finally stirred with coherent thought, he felt woozy, and a migraine split his head down the middle.

The research tent was still and stifling. Not a sound could be heard either inside or out. Bede fought to sit up, eyes slowly adjusting to the dim lights strung across the ceiling.

“Hello?”

No response came. Was everyone…gone? Bede sat in disbelief. The dojo must sure as hell be important. Well, it was. He couldn’t blame Alice and Marnie. But Hop, and those two Sinnoh fools, they just left him alone, comatose with mild poisoning?

The tent suddenly flooded with sun. “Oh, you’re awake.”

He wasn’t alone. Zac just knew how to be quiet.

Bede pressed his temples and groaned. “Too loud.” The light was an assault on his vision. “What time is it?”

“It’s noon,” said Zac, a tone softer. Bede blinked. He slept that long? “Do you want anything?”

“Something for this dreadful headache.”

Zac shook two pills into the palm of his hand and handed him a cup of brown… something. It wasn’t coffee. It was too clear and had ice floating in it.

“What is this?”

“Iced tea?” Zac said.

“ _Iced_ tea?” Bede repeated in disgust. “What sort of heathen puts ice in tea? Tea is supposed to be warm.”

Zac collapsed in the folding chair across from him, sipping his own… _iced_ tea. He wore a tank top and was missing the snapback from earlier, revealing thick, black-brown tufts of hair. “I forgot you Galarians are serious about your tea.”

Bede scoffed, and chased the pain killers down with a tentative sip. It was the farthest from tea he ever tasted. Tea had floral notes and strong flavors. This was just sugar-water with a hint of lemon.

Arceus, he had turned into Opal.

“You should eat something with those meds,” Zac said.

Bede’s stomached gnawed on cue. That explained the wooziness. He hadn’t had a scrap all day. “Just something quick. And coffee. Cream and sugar.”

With a nod, Zac left, pulling the tent shut tight behind him. A peaceful gloom once again enveloped Bede, and his eyes wandered. The whiteboard nearby was scattered with notes, fervent scribbles formed in eureka moments jammed in the spaces between. It reminded him of Hop’s lab in Wedgehurst, on the rare occasion he tagged along for a visit. Bede found Sonia’s theses quite the interesting read. But here, on the isle, what Bede found most interesting were the pages on pages of glyphs pinned to the board. He’d never seen writing like it, couldn’t begin to decipher what it meant. And then there was the peculiar series of dots, all with arrows pointing between three golems of stone, ice, and iron.

Just what was Allie Elite here to do?

Zac returned with Bede’s coffee, a water bottle, and two cups of instant ramen on a tray. He handed Bede the coffee first.

“Don’t believe coffee pairs well with instant noodles, but I figured you’re like Allie,” he said. “She gets headaches if she doesn’t have a cup in the morning.”

He didn’t have the mental capacity to care he was being compared to her. Bede took a sip. It was instant, blissful gratification. “And here I thought I was going to wretch. Not horrible for instant.”

“We’ve had plenty of practice. It’s not easy over a campfire.” Zac sat back in his chair and shook spice mix liberally into one of the ramen cups. “Glad it’s better than my tea.”

“That wasn’t tea,” Bede said. He did not provide further commentary, instead focusing on how the coffee was lukewarm, but bold enough to zap the nerves pounding in his head. He’d kill for his usual caramel macchiato.

He found it ironic how he preferred caramel and compared Alice’s hair to it.

Zac had the sense to remain quiet, stirring their ramen from time to time. He kept glancing over his shoulder at something outside, but from the angle Bede sat at, he couldn’t see.

“Do your Pokémon usually let themselves out?”

His mug came to rest in his lap. There was only one Pokémon on his team who’d figured out how to manipulate her ball.

“Hatterene.”

His call drew the tent open. Hatterene stood there looking concerned.

“Please return to your ball. You can come back out later, I promise.”

She warped over to the machine Bede’s team of six were docked in. With her tentacle, she pressed the button on her empty great ball and disappeared inside it.

“She could have stayed out. She wasn’t a bother this whole time,” Zac said.

Bede was not willing to put someone’s life at risk today.

“I’m surprised you didn’t trigger her murderous tendencies.,” Bede said. “She loathes dragon trainers.”

Zac made a face. “I’m not a dragon trainer.”

“That’s not what I was told.”

He downed the rest of the mug, then grabbed for his ramen. Zac handed it over along with a pair of chopsticks, no questions asked.

“Seasoning?” He shook the canister of spice.

Bede put his hand up in refusal. “It has enough sodium as is.”

Zac chuckled. Did Bede hear a tinge of annoyance? “You’re not going to enjoy my cooking tonight,” he said, then slurped up a mouthful. Bede split his chopsticks with a grimace. If Opal were here, she’d swat Zac with her umbrella.

“So Allie told you about that, huh?” Zac asked. “Figured she would. Overheard her asking Alice how Galar handles retirement and succession.”

Bede flicked a scallion away. The taste would repeat on him throughout the day. “Yes, that’s what she bothered me about. I’ll be honest, I can’t quite comprehend why you’re hesitant. It must be an honor to be thought so highly of.”

Bede was no stranger to insecurities. Many of his own were still open and festering. He relished his ability to pick people apart. All the gym challengers who made it far enough to face him, who survived his quizzes and met him inside the stadium proper, he pried open like books. He’d done it as a challenger, too; Hop lived in his brother’s shadow, Marnie feared Spikemuth would drop from the major leagues. But he would never again weaponize them. He was above that. Opal would be ashamed if he did. It was just his strategy to know how people ticked.

But then there were people like Alice who were utter enigmas to him.

“You seem like the kind who lives to travel,” Bede continued. He ate to hide his smirk. Why do people get engaged if they fear commitment? “Is that what it is?”

“No,” Zac said definitively. “I’m afraid I’ll let her down.”

He stood abruptly and asked if he was done eating. Bede surrendered his cup of broth. Zac poured both out in the grass and chucked them in the garbage.

“She wants to move the order around and make me the final member challengers face.” Zac returned to the chair with a huff. “I’ve never trained a team like that. What if challengers get through because of me? And Sinnoh has no dragon Pokemon. She’d have to expand the league rules for me to be remotely viable.”

Bede found himself in Zac’s shoes. Every time he faced a challenger, he had the same thoughts. If they got his badge, they went on to face Alice. What if they managed to beat her because Bede wasn’t strong enough to deter them?

This is why he put Hatterene away. Opal should have never taught him empathy.

He had to know more; about the Sinnoh league, the research they were here to do, Allie’s plans to challenge Galar’s gyms, but stopped himself when Zac spaced out in the chair. His eyes looked distant and glazed. It terrified Bede. He snapped, trying to bring the older trainer out of his trance. Zac’s grip on the chair went knuckle-white and he let out a shaky breath.

“What in the name of Arceus was that?” Bede demanded. “You’re supposed to be looking after me, not the other way around.”

“That was Latios,” Zac said. “He has this ability called sight sharing. He was letting me know what Hop and Allie were up to.” He groaned into his hand. “Arceus, still no warning when he does it.”

Bede never believed a deep bond with a Pokemon of myth was possible. They were supposed to defy trainers by very nature.

“Does Allie have the sway to allow a legendary in the league?” Bede asked.

“She’d do her darndest, I’m sure,” Zac said. “Latios is too important to me. I just got him back after all these years.”

“I thought he was given to you?”

“He was, but then he was stolen,” Zac said. “By the Draconid tribe.”

Bede sat tight and kept his mouth shut. He’d learned what people looked like when they were about to pour out their heart and soul, and right now, Zac was worked up, scowling from bad memories.

“He wasn’t technically my dad’s. He belonged to my mother. One day she just…disappeared. Never knew she was one of them until the Draconids came to take their Pokémon back. It was only when I went back to Hoenn for Allie’s league challenge that the elder apologized. They didn’t realize who I was. And, they gave my Latios back.”

Thank Arceus he put Hatterene away. The hate leeching from Zac’s voice would have made her tear him limb from limb.

“Draconids are natural protectors,” Zac finished. “But it’s hard to embrace my heritage after they treated me like an outsider all these years.”

An outsider. A nobody. Forgotten by those you thought you could call family. It all hit Bede right where he was still raw.

No, no, they had nothing in common. They weren’t friends. These were rivals, people he had to crush without mercy.

“Sorry,” Zac said. “Venting puts the mind at ease. Don’t take it personally.”

“I didn’t,” Bede said. He desperately wanted to reroute their conversation. “May I ask something unrelated?” He waited for Zac’s response but he just waved his hand nonchalantly. “What is that gibberish on the whiteboard?”

Zac craned his neck to see. “Oh, that’s the Unknown language. And some Hoenn braille.”

“Like, the Pokémon?”

He nodded. “It’s a language very prominent in Sinnoh, found in all our ruins and temples.”

Bede drummed his fingers on the cot. Bad habits die hard. “Can you read it?”

“Not a lick,” Zac said. “But Allie can. She studied under Cynthia. She’s got the translation right here.” He flipped through manila folders until he found the file he wanted. “A body of rock. A body of ice. A body of steel. When gathers the three Pokémon, the king shall appear.”

Bede furrowed his brow. He prided himself in being quick and clever, but even he was at a loss. “What?”

“It’s talking about the legend of Regigigas,” Zac said. “This engraving was taken from Snowpoint Temple, a ruin far north where the Pokemon Regigigas is said to have been laid to rest. Regigigas has the ability to move continents, and created the legendary Pokemon Regirock, Regice, and Registeel to serve it. They’ve all been sealed away, with the only clues left behind written in Braille and the text of the Unknown. I can read one, Allie the other.”

So Zac did have a brain in there? Bede assumed he’d been chatoting Allie. “You talk of Sinnoh and Hoenn. What does another region’s legends have to do with Galar?”

“We’ve heard some rumors,” Zac said. “Your professor Sonia uncovered some peculiar stories while trying to correct your region’s misguided history.” Bede caught the glint in his eyes, the smirk in the corner of his lips. That was _his_ look. He hated when people pretended to know more than him. “Regigigas may have created more golems than originally thought. Creations sealed away because they were incomplete. That’s one thing we’re here to find out. Any connection to Regigigas is a connection to Sinnoh and our origins.”

“Then why are you bothering me and not, I don’t know, out legend hunting?”

“Because you got stung by a Scolipede, and I know how it feels,” Zac said. “Took a Poison Jab to the chest from a Drapion in Sinnoh’s Great Marsh.” He popped open a toolbox and pulled out both a stethoscope and blood pressure cuff. “She’s with Hop, anyway, in the bay. We found some islands on the horizon a few days ago, but the Sharpedo out in the deep are vicious. However, Hop doesn’t know how to fly on his Corviknight.”

“We don’t fly on our Pokémon here,” Bede clarified. “We take taxis.”

“We can teach you. It’s very useful,” Zac said. The last thing Bede wanted was to be taught anything by the likes of him. It was bad enough he was forced to attend the dojo. “I think that’s what Allie plans to do next with Hop.”

Zac plugged his ears and constricted Bede’s arm with the cuff. “Let’s check your vitals. You’re free to go to the dojo now. If you can walk.”

* * *

Bede limped all the way to the dojo, leaning on Rapidash for support. He was determined to show up his first day. Or as Alice would call him, stubborn.

Rapidash snorted. Bede did his best to take weight off his flank.

“Sorry. At least you’re immune.”

Both front and back doors were blown wide to allow the sea breeze in. Bede saw trainers returning from the battle ground in the valley beyond. He couldn’t bring his Pokémon inside, so Rapidash disappeared in a blaze of light. Bede ignored the pain that radiated with each step and forced himself to stand tall, chin up and eyes hooded with disinterest: his signature appearance.

The reek of old sweat hit his nostrils. It permeated so far into the mats that even a deep-clean wouldn’t rid the place of it. Students in mustard-colored robes mulled about, loud and boisterous. Bede hated this sort of dynamic; living together, eating together, training together. He imagined school felt like this, and saw himself breaking noses in more bloody fights had Rose not homeschooled him.

But Bede was not the same feral orphan boy, and here he had an outlet through battling, his Pokemon, and friends. His heart did this funny flutter in his chest. He still wasn’t used to calling them friends. But they were the best people he could have asked for, even if he acted like a miserable prick most of the time.

Now, where were they in this sea of mustard-yellow?

Bede stuck out like a sore thumb in his pink and teal. Gym leaders were allowed to wear their respective jerseys to signify their status, and the Distortion World would find order before he passed up that opportunity. He didn’t miss the double-takes, the whispers girls shared, the sneers from the guys. Yeah, he was a man in pink, and he could beat anyone’s ass here.

“Look who finally showed up.” The shove made him stagger. Bede breathed in sharp through his teeth. “Galar’s strongest gym leader.”

“Guess the forest Pokemon wanted fairy for breakfast.”

The two were in their mid-teens, slightly older than Bede when he first started his gym challenge. One had his hair pulled tight in a bun, the other fiery red and sprayed with freckles. Bede was familiar with their breed; his old self, mud-slingers, bullies. He got a lot of their kind as challengers, unfortunately.

Bede said nothing, didn’t entertain them beyond a simple scoff and roll of the eyes. He was used to it. It was unbelievable what flew off the tongue during some of his matches, after he’d backed his opponent into a corner. What did his sexuality have to do with the Pokémon he fought with? The dignity, the _self-control_ Bede honed to simply send them packing with a G-Max Smite. He secretly delighted in ending certain careers, because Alice would never be subject to them herself.

“Bede!”

Alice dashed in from the courtyard, disheveled, strands of hair askew and the ends a bit wavy. How had she managed to run herself ragged already? Marnie came up beside her, hair pinned tightly to her head. “How are you feeling?”

“Fine,” he said. “Was worried that Sinnoh joke would overdoes me on something, though.”

She cuffed his shoulder. “Oh, cut it out. He volunteered to stay behind because you kept muttering ‘I can’t be poisoned, my ability’s Pastel Veil’ in your sleep.”

Bede felt his blush reach his ears. There came snickering behind him. “I must have been worried about Rapidash.”

“Still,” she said. “Glad you’re okay. I was worried for a second, but I should know better by now.”

Bede shrugged. “Naturally.” Alice frowned, made to cuff him again, but lowered her hand.

“Don’t be an arse.”

She already started her summer tan, Bede noticed. Everything about her was golden, except the scar that settled across her cheek. They didn’t talk about it much, mostly because Bede felt guilty for its appearance. He peeled his eyes away to acknowledge the mass exodus from the dojo. “Where’s everyone headed?”

“Lunch break. Did you eat?”

“Had some cheap noodles in a styrofoam cup,” he said. He added a scoff. “Can’t wait to see how dinner turns out tonight.”

“Honestly, that sounds fantastic about now,” Marnie said. She clutched at her stomach. Both heard it grumble. “You comin’ back with us or what?”

Bede adjusted the duffel bag on his shoulder. “Think I’ll finally shower. I feel disgusting.” He’d need another by the end of the day, but he wasn’t paying the water bill, so he’d take two if he damn pleased. “What does the dojo master have planned for later?”

“The training we never got to start,” Alice said. “Sparring was interrupted by these insane Slowpoke. Stole everyone’s stuff, fast as hell. Strange variant, really. Wonder if Hop knows about them?”

“Were no problem for me, though.” Marnie gave a cheeky grin. She patted Alice’s shoulder. “Let’s go, I’m getting hangry.”

They went their separate ways, Bede finally taking his much-needed shower.

* * *

“Dinner is served!”

Zac gave a chef’s kiss as he ladled coconut curry over plates of rice. Bede was intrigued—he would never say impressed—that the curry looked somewhat edible. The aroma of spice and sweetened coconut milk wafted from his plate. He picked up his spoon, starving after a long day of battles and struggling with his limp.

“How man Haban berries did you use?” Allie demanded. Bede firmly placed his spoon back down.

“I used Pomeg, and cut it with Qualot, and the coconut milk makes it even more mild,” Zac said. “You should be able to handle it, you big baby.”

Bede attempted the curry again. He was surprised by the sweetness that balanced the savory so well. The rice soaked the roux up perfectly. It was only after he swallowed that the spice coated the back of his throat. With a cough, he reached for some water. Alice hummed beside him, face already stuffed.

“Zac, this is delicious!”

His heart twisted in a knot. No, oh no, there was no way he was _jealous_ because she liked some garbage curry. Alice did not have exquisite taste; she had taste, all five of them, and ate practically anything.

Bede seriously wondered why she didn’t have a Greedunt on her team.

“I’m cooking tomorrow,” he announced.

“Oh, really, Bede?” Alice mumbled around her spoon. “It’s not bad at all.”

“I never said it was bad. I just offered to cook.”

Bede fancied himself handy in the kitchen. Give him a wok and some oil, and he could whip up five-star meals even in the heart of the Wild Area. He wasn’t a shabby baker either. They all demanded his mince pies around the holidays.

“I think rotating who cooks is smart,” Zac said. “Otherwise we’ll get sick of eating the same meals.” He pointed his spoon at Allie. “She only knows how to cook with root vegetables.”

“And you cover everything in spices, so shut up!”

Zac snickered. Yes, Allie seemed to be enjoying his curry, but she was also on her second glass of water. Bede wasn’t far behind.

“How’s it taste?” Zac egged. Allie pouted.

“I don’t know. It’s getting hard to.”

Zac had mercy and lumped an extra scoop of rice on her plate. Bede hated to admit it, but their relationship was…

_Endearing_.

But only because he saw some parallels.

* * *

After dinner, they lounged about the fire, swapping stories as the sun touched the horizon and granted a much-needed break from the heat. Bede watched his and Alice’s Rapidash graze while scrolling Rotogram. Her Cinderace chased Allie’s Lucario around a boulder. Marnie’s Liepard was busy cleaning herself, and Hop used Dubwool as a pillow. Zac owned a very odd Absol who, upon being released, leapt to the tallest outcrop and fixated on some point in the distance. Marnie was in love with him.

“You say he’s from Hoenn?” She asked as she played with Morpeko’s ears in her lap. The little rodent nibbled on dinner leftovers.

“Yeah, one of the few Pokemon I brought with me to Sinnoh,” Zac answered. Bede was only half-listening.

“Wish he’d come down so I could pet him.”

“Eh, he’s not the most sociable.”

Marnie gave Bede a pointed look. “Sounds like someone else we know.” He glared back, slipping his phone in his pocket. Rotogram was dead except for Raihan’s live training session, and while Bede could learn a thing or two for their next exhibition match, like hell he wanted to interact with Raihan’s thirsty fangirls. He had enough to deal with.

“I’m not hiding in a cave somewhere, am I?” he retorted.

Marnie scoffed. “Yet.”

Bede rolled his eyes and propped himself against a log. The pain killers Allie offered with dinner took the edge off his leg, but he knew tomorrow a bruise will have bloomed down his thigh, deep purple and sickly-looking. Alice flopped onto her stomach, still on her phone. Bede glimpsed at her screen, saw Rotogram open, and a familiar dragon-type gym leader mouthing words without sound.

“You’re seriously watching him?” He smirked at the way her shoulders bunched.

“So now you’re invading my privacy,” she said. “Rude. You’re rude. Raihan’s turned his platform into an educational one. He’s not just on Rotogram to flex.”

“I beg to differ.” Yes, Raihan taught strategy classes now, but all his posts were either of his pecs or his abs.

No matter what Bede tried, he couldn’t bulk up. He’d never look like Raihan. Hell, even Hop had more definition than him. He hadn’t the clue what he was doing wrong. Was he not lifting enough weights? Doing enough push-ups? Did he have to drink protein shakes? Bile rose in his throat instinctively. He tried one once; gagged on it.

His thoughts were scattered by the bray of Rapidash.

“Bede, he’s doing it again.”

Alice scrambled to sit up. Bede turned in time to see his Rapidash stomp hooves at Alice’s. Her Pokémon’s loud brays startled the quiet of the evening.

“Your Rapidash just bit mine on the bum,” she proclaimed.

Bede scoffed. “My Pokémon is a perfect specimen. Yours probably annoyed him with its wild antics.”

Alice furrowed her brow. She whipped a command at her Pokémon. “Cornelia, bully him right back.”

Her Pokemon responded to its name by lowering its horn. Bede leapt to his feet, hissing away the throb of pain such a rush created. “Don’t you dare!”

Cornelia the Rapidash ignored him and charged. She chased his Pokemon across the meadow and down the beach, thundering from sight. He gaped at Alice. “Why?”

She waved her hand. “They’ll come back, they always do. You know she won’t hurt him, either.”

“But after the day we’ve both had?”

She was the one to roll her eyes this time. “Sit down, let me make you a s’more. Marnie, toss the marshmallows.”

It’s always food, always food with her. Bede made a mental note to never buy her flowers. A box of chocolates would do. He could probably pick a restaurant out of a hat and she’d be fine with it. If Bede ever, _ever_ , found the courage to take her on a date. He poured his heart out once, on the pitch at Wyndon, when he stormed the semifinals at 16. The adrenaline of dodging security made the words tumble from his lips. Oh no, it wasn’t a confession; he was just righteously pissed his world was flipped upside-down. But if he hadn’t worn his heart on his sleeve that day, he would have never continued down this path he chose, and he had Alice to thank for the encouragement.

Bede wasn’t sure if he could pour his heart out like that again.

Allie returned then, a Haxorus tailing her. Bede lost count of how many Pokemon she owned. With a team from every region except Galar, it made sense she switched them out daily.

“Would anyone care to explain why two Rapidash just stormed passed me, and one gave me the stink-eye?” she asked.

Bede eyed her Haxorus, its golden armor, the red-tipped scythes protruding from its jaw. It looked capable of evisceration, and Allie clearly kept it well-fed and trained.

“It wasn’t aimed at you. It was at your…knife creature,” he said.

A skewer was thrust at him. For a split second, Bede thought Alice was trying to stab him with it, but she was only handing it over.

“You know what Pokemon that is. Don’t be coy.”

Bede took the skewer, a marshmallow already pierced on top. “One cannot deny it looks like it disemboweled someone.”

“Haxorus? Nah, he’s too laid-back,” Allie said. She crossed camp to sit between Zac and Hop. Haxorus curled around her, close to the fire to warm its reptilian blood. “Unless, of course, he’s in battle. Hey, can I have some of those?”

Alice courageously—recklessly—arced their bag of marshmallows over the fire. They landed square in Allie’s lap, and she grabbed a skewer with two prongs, stabbing one on each end. Zac slid into the crook of Haxorus’ neck, undeterred by the sleeping dragon. He draped an arm around his fiancee’s shoulders while she toasted marshmallows for them both.

“Where have you been?” he asked. His lip barely graze her ear.

“I went back to the bay to do some etchings. I didn’t have my charcoal with me earlier.” Bede stifled a laugh at how skillfully she ignored him. She flipped open her notebook to presumably show her drawings. “We couldn’t decipher it on the spot. Hop needed his reference books.”

“Old Galarian is a mess,” Hop said. He looked up from what he’d been reading. “But I swear, not as strange as what you have me learning. This language is really all over Sinnoh?”

“The Unknown language? Yeah, it’s an odd one.”

Bede perked up. So she had Hop learning that language of glyphs, too?

“But if we find it here, we’ll know for certain Sinnoh made contact.”

Bede turned his skewer slowly, watching his marshmallow bronze, listening to them talk of myth and history. He did not understand what was so important about Galar and Sinnoh and connections between the two. Alice laid out slabs of grahams and chocolate, blissfully unaware her marshmallow was beyond caramelization. He said nothing, wanting to see if she’d realize. When she finally pulled it from the flame, it was molten black.

“It’s burnt,” Bede said.

“It’s _perfect.”_

He wrinkled his nose in disgust, which made her snort with belly-deep laughter. Bede liked this about her. She refused to prescribe to the antiquated idea her voice should be dainty and titillating. Which was a godsend for Bede. He couldn’t imagine how he’d function if she actually tried sex appeal.

Alice globbed her s’more together, then made one for him using his own golden creation. They ate in silence while Hop and Allie muttered about possible translations. Hop regretfully came to the conclusion that he’d have to call Sonia in the morning.

“I love watching you eat s’mores,” Alice said.

Bede inhaled crumbs. He chugged from his thermos and she laughed some more.

“Do elaborate,” he said after he cleared his throat.

_“_ It’s the only time I see you with food on your face,” she said, adding “Mr. Perfect.”

“That’s because I have something called restraint,” Bede said. He nodded towards her second marshmallow on the fire. This one she took care not to smolder.

“You can’t just have one!”

“You certainly can. They’re much too sweet.” Bede touched his face, searching for whatever stray crumbs or smears she apparently saw. Opal taught him the importance of maintaining appearance. That’s why he liberally used chapstick, kept his eyebrows neat, had a seven-step skincare regime he was desperately trying to follow on the Arceus-forsaken island.

When Alice first got her scar, he brought her gels and creams and vitamin E supplements to mask it. She promptly slapped them to the floor.

Alice scoffed. “The corners of your lips, you prat.” Bede wiped the mess away swiftly.

“So this book,” Hop was still discussing their field work. “It’s from the Canalave library, yeah? I hear they’re renowned for their mythology collection.”

“They are,” Allie answered. Her smile was full of fond memories. “Their prized possession is a manuscript dating back to human origin in Sinnoh. It’s completely written in the Unknown, and better yet, describes the creation myth as it’s found on the plates of Arceus.”

“Mate, you’re lying.”

“I most certainly am not. I brought both scans and translations with me, if you’d like to see for yourself,” she said. “Cynthia and I agree the presence of the Unknown on Arceus’ plates means it’s not a language created by humans, but one that predates us.”

“How do you know the engravings are true, though?”

“I owned them for some time.” That made Bede snap to attention. Even Alice was frozen mid-bite. “The plates were scattered across Sinnoh. I found them while first traveling the region, and Cynthia had me return them to the Spear Pillar after we learned their true purpose.”

“Unbelievable,” Hop murmured. He spoke barely above a whisper, but the crackling fire was his only rival. Bede heard every word. “So you really have met many legendary Pokémon?”

Allie nodded. “It’s like they’re drawn to me.”

The audacity, Bede thought, as if she were the only one powerful enough to side with such Pokemon and save a region. Little did she know the professor she now had as her assistant was one of the two heroes responsible with Galar’s fate. When Rose brought on Galar’s second Darkest Day, Hop had called on Zacian, and Alice, Zamazenta.

Bede cleared his throat and didn’t miss how their eyes flickered towards him uneasily, shiny and reflective in the firelight.

“Can I ask?” He waited for her approval. Why, he wasn’t sure. Maybe he felt an ounce of respect for helping him out this morning. Allie stared back wide-eyes, expectant; she wanted him to continue. “I saw paragraphs of those glyph inside your tent. Why do you care? What would be gained from their discovery on this island, or in all of Galar for that matter?”

She stared at him like he’d lost the plot. “Well, it would be a cultural connection—”

“I understood that,” Bede interrupted. He didn’t care if Alice chose to hit him, but was surprised when she didn’t. “Why does it matter?”

Allie darted to the book in her lap. She thumbed through the pages as if the answer were scripted in them. His brow knotted in irritation.

“Hop, has she even told you?”

“Bede,” Alice hissed.

“You also have strange stones that fall from the skies above your region, yes?” Bede sucked in a sharp breath. She held his gaze. That was one thing Alice was horrible with: eye contact. “The wishing stars.”

Of every topic she could have brought up, why did it have to be _that?_

“Galar’s not the first to experience it, you know? In Kalos, there were the mega stones. In Hoenn, meteorites. And there’s one line from the creation mythos that makes me believe the plates are yet another part.”

She went on and on, uninterrupted now that he’d been unwittingly shut down. Horrible memories flooded him; the mural in Stow-on-Side, his disqualification, when Eternatus burst out of Hammerlocke stadium and Alice rushed in after Leon and Hop. He never thought he’d see her again.

And it was all his fault.

“Bede?”

He blinked, refocusing. Allie peered at him over the flames. Zac threw another log on, sending sparks into the air. “I’m listening.”

“Just checking. You wanted to know, after all,” she said.

Ah, that’s right. He brought this on himself.

“The suspense here is killing me,” Hop said. “What’s the line? Whaddidya find?”

“This,” she began, and held up her notebook so he could see the etching of a stone tablet on the page scrawled over in that gibberish language. “It says ‘The power of defeated giants infuses these plates’. It seemed like a one-off for so long. I never paid it much attention until the news of dynamaxing reached Sinnoh,”

Alice smacked her lips as she polished off her third s’mores of the night. Bede hated loud eaters, but he tolerated her. Emphasis on tolerated.

“So you’re here not only to see if there’s some buried connection between Galar and Sinnoh, but also to help Hop and Sonia with the dynamax phenomenon?” she clarified, just to lift all suspicion Bede had. Allie nodded in agreement.

“When Sonia said she uncovered some Galarian tales regarding Golem Pokemon, we practically flew over the next day,” she said. “Outside Sinnoh, 3000 years is as far back in history we can find. It marks the end of the Kalosian war, the firing of the ultimate weapon and Galar’s first Darkest Day. But if the dynamax phenomenon is spoken off in Sinnoh myth, that would mean its ancient, would it not? For all we known, Sinnoh can have power spots that have simply gone dormant.”

Alice smirked with marshmallow on her chin. “Well, let us know where we can help. The four of us are no strangers to making history.”

Yes, they weren’t, but not all of them for the best reasons.

The fire swirled back to life, the log from earlier having finally caught. Heat licked Bede’s face and his vision filled with orange haze. It reminded him of the fire of Hatterene’s that triggered this morning’s misfortune. He wanted desperately to be alone.

* * *

Bede pretended to fall asleep. He waited until he no longer heard Alice toss and turn within her tent, and Hop’s snoring accosted his ears. When their camp finally went still, he pulled on his track jacket, ignored the ache at his hip, and slowly undid the zipper of his tent. He left all his Pokémon behind besides Sylveon.

The moon was high but barely half its fullness, and the embers had been doused by Zac’s Floatzel. It was dark, but Bede adjusted well to gloom thanks to Ballonlea existing in the heart of the Tangle. He waited until he crossed the bridge to release Sylveon so the noise wouldn’t wake anyone. He wanted to be alone, just him and his Pokémon, like old times.

Sylveon wove around his legs with a purr. Bede gave its soft blue ears a ruffle.

“A little midnight stroll,” he said. “Go on, see what you can find. Just don’t get into any battles.”

It became clear over the years that Sylveon thought him a poor hunter. He always brought gifts back to Bede. Sometimes they were useful, like the Shiny Stone that gave him a Togekiss or a spare potion. And sometimes the items were downright pilfered, as was the case when he found a stray _bra_ in his kitchen of all things. Bede wondered if the father of his litter was a Liepard. Opal claimed he was purebred.

Sylveon bound off with a delicate mewl. Bede shoved his hands deep in his pockets and followed. He hoped to stretch his legs enough so sleep came easy; the meds were starting to wear.

Wind tugged his curls as its swept down to meet the sea. The distant crash of waves was soothing. Bede preferred night on the Isle, if only for an escape from the heat. But Bede was not here to escape. He was up at the Hatterene’s hour because his mind would not shut off. He let that stupid Sinnoh Champion get under his skin.

Bede sighed. He knew that wasn’t true. The only enemy he had on this chunk of land in the middle of the Galarian Sea was himself

Sylveon led him to a cave that was damp and cold and smelled like earth, much like Ballonlea. The only thing missing was the neon luminescence of the local flora. Bede was not keen on caves at night. They were dens for powerful Pokémon, and the last thing he wanted was another run-in with something hulking and angry. Bede settled near the entrance, calling to Sylveon as quietly as he could not to go too far inside. After a few minutes, he lost side of his blue coat.

“No use,” Bede mused as he dangled his legs over the stream that carved its way through the bedrock. He tossed his Pokémon’s love ball back and forth. “Damn thing makes his own trouble.”

The similarities between his team and himself were jarring.

Bede festered with thought. Allie had brought up the Darkest Day, and no matter how much he wanted to detest her for it, he couldn’t. She didn’t know guilt ate him alive whenever it was mentioned. It was all his fault. Eternatus waking; his fault. The wishing stars that fueled its rampage; his fault. How the champion’s cup was postponed because Alice was in the hospital for three days after; his fault. And for what, acknowledgement? The only thing Rose acknowledged was his fuck-up in Stow-on-Side.

When Rose went to prison, Bede ripped the Macro-Cosmos logo off his trench coat, shattered his watch-face against a boulder in Glimwood Tangle. He left it there to rust. He didn’t need them anymore. He was an adult, quite capable of making his own choices.

And he chose to shoulder the guilt.

A rocked skipped twice, three times across the water’s surface. Bede snapped in the direction it came from. Alice stood outside the cave graced in moonlight, wearing a baggy tee that reached the hem of her shorts. It featured the Spikemuth Gym logo, a present from Marnie. She spearheaded Spikemuth’s economy with merchandise and Piers’ concerts, all to fund a real stadium. Construction was due to wrap up in August.

“Couldn’t sleep?” she said.

Bede put his chin against his knees. “That makes two of us.”

She sat beside him, swinging her legs in childlike fashion. “You didn’t forget about cooking tomorrow, right?” she said. “That also means breakfast.”

“I’ll be up,” said Bede. He then cocked his head so he didn’t shout in her ear. “Sylveon! It’s time to come back now.”

His voice echoed through the cavern. No response. Bede hung his head between his legs and grumbled.

“I swear, I’m going to put a bell on that thing like a house pet—”

He froze when he felt her hand glide up his shoulder. Her fingers curled near his clavicle, nails short so dirt didn’t get under them. Half her face was cast silver, her dull, faded scar in the shadows.

“Hey,” she said quietly. “You’re not mad at her, are you?”

Bede deflated.

“It wouldn’t be justified,” he answered. “Though she’s a bit tactless, don’t you agree?”

Her grip tightened, then relaxed. She said, quietly, a whisper in his ear, “I still don’t understand why you blame yourself.”

She said that the first time he apologized, too. They’ve had this talk many times. The outcome never changed.

“I _fed_ that thing,” Bede growled, twisting so his height was to his advantage even while sitting. “Eternatus nearly killed you, and every time I have to look at your face, I’m reminded what I did.”

Alice used her free hand to trace the puckered skin along her cheekbone. “Damn. It’s that ugly?”

Bede’s anger fizzled to nothing. “W-what? That’s not what I meant at all—!”

She clasped a hand over her lips and laughed. She was laughing at him. _Laughing!_ At a moment like this? The gall. It was pathetic how easily she riled him right back up.

“Ive told you over and over again, my face is not your fault.”

He jerked away from her. “I was ruthless, ready to trample you and Hop to dust for what? Some stones? Some bloody recognition?” Before he could fling another retort, her eyes steeled over, and his tongue sat like lead in his mouth. She looked like the Champion he faced on the pitch. Bede suppressed a tremble.

“You were a _child_ , Bede. They used you. What do you have to be guilty of, that fact they manipulated you when they should have been parenting?”

Bede brought his chin back to his kneecaps. He thought himself smarter.

How wrong he’d been.

“I never once thought you a bad person,” she continued. “Twisted and misguided, but those are Opal’s words, not mine. The people responsible have been dealt with, and you’re not one of them.”

That wasn’t the point. He didn’t care about Galar, or Rose, or the satisfying, deliciously righteous hand of justice he’d been dealt. He cared because he was so ferociously in love with Alice, someone he thought was far too glorious to ever want him back. She was lightning in a bottle, and try as he might, Bede never fully screwed the lid on tight.

Her hand returned. Bede kept still and pouted. “One day you’ll get used to my hideous face.”

“S’not hideous,” he muttered.

“Huh?”

“I said you’re daft. Let’s go back to camp.”

Bede did not think her any less beautiful because of her scar. He wanted nothing more than to plant each inch of that crescent with a kiss, then to suck on her neck, the valley of her breasts, grace her navel with his lips, and—

His ears felt hot, and stopped himself from wandering into dangerous territory. He also had a habit of not wearing underwear when he slept, and he failed to remember that when anxiety dragged him out of bed to pace.

A roar erupted from deep in the cave, guttural and draconic. Both trainers startled as Sylveon whizzed by with something in its mouth.

“What did you do?” Bede snapped at his fleeing Pokémon.

“Shit,” Alice said. “I didn’t bring my Pokémon.”

Bede blinked in disbelief. “You didn’t bring any…?”

He wasted not a second longer. Gritting at the pain, Bede shoved her out first as they scrambled after Sylveon. They didn’t stop running until the bridge was crossed, and camp no more than ten feet away.

“I swear,” Bede panted, bent over with hands on his thighs. “How someone as thoughtless as you remained Champion for this long, I’ll never know.”

“Shove off,” Alice breathed. “They were sleeping.”

Sylveon made delighted noises as it gnawed whatever it had at their feet. Annoyed, Bede pried open his needle-like teeth.

“Naughty little gremlin. Give that to me.” He held an ivory fang disdainfully between his thumb and pointer. It was covered in scrapes, grooves, and saliva. “A dragon fang? We can’t even use this.”

“Oh, Bede. Just let him play with it.”

She always took the little klepto’s side. It didn’t help he folded his ears down and looked up at Bede pitifully. With a huff, he dangled the fang over his Pokemon’s nose. Sylveon clamped down and scurried back to his tent with it.

“Hey, if you’re going to chew, chew in the corner. I don’t want you drooling on my sleeping bag.” Bede hissed the words through his teeth. The last thing he wanted was Hop or Marnie asking what hey was up to so late during breakfast. Marnie loved to insinuate.

“Opal sure knows how to pick ‘em,” Alice said.

Bede sighed. “I feel bad for the poor dragon Pokemon he beat up for it.”

They stopped in front of their respective tents. Her face was now whitewashed, scar a pale streak through her golden summer tan. “Get some rest, Bede,” she said. “See you in the morning.”

Bede nodded. He’d see her face in his dreams, he was sure of it. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She wanted to scream, she was that frustrated. Once back, she was running for the hills, desperate for solitude; a cold shower, a battle, anything to distract her from how horny she was today. This amount of thirst was unheard of.

Alice awoke to the smells of butter and vanilla and a scratching outside her tent. She blinked the haze from her eyes. Sunlight streamed through the mesh and baked the inside, so she kicked out of her sleeping bag. Why was this island so damn hot?

“They’re sleeping. Leave them alone.”

She heard Bede’s scolding timbre above the sizzle of cooking. Unzipping for some fresh air, Alice was greeted by Sylveon. It leapt inside and started kneading her bed without hesitation.

“Hello, little troublemaker. Here to steal my heart next?”

Something clattered outside, and Bede yelped. Alice poked her head out.

“You okay?”

“I’m fine. Burnt myself.”

Bede sucked his finger while tending the griddle. Slices of Kalosian toast broiled away on it, and a tea kettle whistled to be taken off the flame. What fell was the spatula now in his right hand. Alice felt her stomach cave on itself.

“Only you can manage gourmet while camping.”

He switched to a bowl and started whisking. “That’s because I’m magic.”

Alice ogled him while playing with Sylveon’s paws. Whatever he was making, he sure mixed the hell out of it. She liked how taut his shoulders looked under his fuchsia tee. As for his shorts, while they might be considered _too_ short in other regions, they were perfectly normal here. She got to see a lot of leg, a lot of lean muscle, and the bandages that had to be redressed.

He had a cute butt. A very cute butt.

There was no denying Bede was gorgeous. He was art and should be on display somewhere, as perfect as a sculpture with his marble skin. And those long, hooded eyelashes; they made her breath catch every time he looked at her through them. Alice wanted nothing more than to run her hands through his white-blonde curls and kiss him all over. She wondered if that would send shivers down his spine the way the word ‘naughty’ did to her last night. She wanted to hear him say it again, in different context, with a little bit of a lilt.

He’d never indulge her like that, though. She wasn’t the kind of woman he was into. Bede was prim and proper; spoke at galas and meetings without contractions, held his head high and his image higher. Alice was a rough-and-tumble town girl who wasn’t afraid to scuff her knees. Fitting for a champion, but for Bede’s hand? Maybe not.

_Fuck_ , she was in love with him, and it hurt. She knew exactly when it started, too; the Wyndon pitch, her first ever semifinals, when he staked his whole career on their battle. It was the shine in his eyes that did it, because those candy-stripe tights looked ridiculous on him. Sometimes she wished to go back to those simpler times when all she wanted was to kick Bede in the balls.

“Breakfast is ready.”

She bounced off her air mattress, and Sylveon gave her the dirtiest look for disturbing him. Outside was ten degrees cooler. She threw her hands over her head and gave her back a wonderful stretch. Bede plated the last of the toast and brought it to the picnic table, where a bowl of berries and freshly whipped cream was waiting.

“Looks good, Bede.”

He tied off what remained of the loaf he used before seating himself and pouring tea. “I was tired of eating slop.”

“Oh, my Arceus, none of it was slop.” She rummaged through her bag for Cornelia’s luxury ball. The Rapidash was peckish, and if she didn’t eat every two hours, she’d throw a tantrum.

Bede pointed towards the meadow with his fork, where the rest of his team were fed and content. “If she chases my Pokemon off again, we will have a problem.”

Alice rolled her eyes. “Yours always starts it. Don’t act the victim.”

She sent Cornelia off with a pat to the hindquarters, then joined Bede at the table, piling her plate with everything; three slices of toast, bluk and razz berries, a dollop of cream. There was a distinct lack of syrup.

“I think we forgot it,” Bede answered while swirling milk in his tea. “And, well, I didn’t feel like digging through their stuff.”

The tent Zac and Allie shared was zipped up tight, but from the sound of it, everyone would be up soon. All around, camp stirred to life with yawns, shuffling, the slip of feet on vinyl. They seldom got to share early morning moments anymore in their busy lives, the days of sleepovers and crashing for movie nights few and far between. Alice cherished it even more because Bede was here.

She reached for the kettle to steep her own cup. “I thought you preferred coffee with breakfast?”

“Yes.” Bede touched the mug to his lips. His pinky hovered instinctually, and she loved how he struggled to force it down. Opal trained him well. “But I’m not quite sure how they make it, and the last thing I want is to waste such a precious resource.”

“Wow,” she mused. “The great Bede admits he doesn’t know something?”

The smolder he gave set her whole body on fire. She wanted to squirm. “Stuff your cheeks, Teagarten. I know you’re dying to.”

She stabbed her fork down into a berry, imagining once again that it was something a bit more sensitive on him. How he went from guilt-ridden to such a little shit in less than twelve hours, she’d never know, but she still wanted him either way and that killed her.

There came the sound of unzipping. Zac emerged from his dark tent in sweatpants and a tank top. Frigid air rolled out with him.

“If I have hypothermia tomorrow, you all know why,” he chattered. Neither missed how he rubbed his bare arms. Allie stepped out behind him with an Alolan Ninetales, wearing but a scant tank and shorts.

“I’m not built for this weather, Zac,” she said. “Hoenn and Alola had hotels and Pokemon Centers.”

“Not my fault you’d rather be an icicle than a person.” He went straight to the fire, stoking up the flames before retrieving a different kettle and a jar of ground coffee. “In fact, I’m pretty sure Froslass disguise themselves as beautiful women to devour mens’ souls, so I’m suspicious.”

Allie groaned into her hands. “Please, just make coffee.”

She sat next to Bede, which Alice thought rather bold of her, adding to the list of reasons she liked her as a trainer. Alice nudged the plate of toast and watched her eyes light up.

“Bede, you made this?”

“Of course,” he hummed.

“Even the cream?”

His eyebrow twitched. “What, did you expect an abomination?”

Alice pressed her bare foot against his shin. His eyes met hers again, daring. She retracted. Arceus, she’d gone soft on him today. Zac crashed down next to her with a force that rattled silverware. He stole the piece of toast Allie was going for, so she jabbed his hand with her fork in retaliation.

“Coffee’s on,” he said, giving Bede a knowing look. Bede nodded back. “I’ll lay out gauze for you when we’re done.”

“Oh, did you want medication?” Allie asked.

“I can get it after breakfast,” he said. It bothered her to know his pain was strong enough to need another dose. How would he fair with training today? “That Ninetales, it’s the fairy variant, yes?”

The pure-white Ninetales currently sniffed Alice’s open tent. Sylveon’s little blue paw swatted it on the nose.

“Hey! Don’t be a brat.”

Ninetales dove straight inside, chasing his Pokémon out and down the hillside. Allie laughed. “Right, fairy and ice. Looking to get one?”

“If they’re good at refrigeration,” he said. “Can’t say I need the ice-type coverage, though.”

“Yeah, I chose a Ribombee to take on the Alola league with,” Allie said. “She’s a hit on Sinnoh’s contest scene, thought. Never been any good at them, but for a PR shoot? They want Ninetales.”

Alice imagined Bede performing in one of those fabled, foreign contests; smartly dressed in one of those three-piece, designer suits he wore to league banquets, the elegance of his Pokémon on full display. The idea fit him well. But Alice knew Bede would rather ruin trainers’ lives in Ballolea stadium than dance around on some stage shooting Dazzling Gleams everywhere. He lived for the adrenaline rush, to flaunt his prowess. He was a junkie like that.

And a puckishly handsome one, too.

Hop finally joined them, still rubbing sleep from his eyes as he made himself a cup of tea. Zac poured everyone coffee from the pot. Bede inhaled it like a drug. Maybe he had two addictions.

“Someone better wake Marnie before all the food’s gone,” Hop said.

Alice gave a sigh and slid from her seat. “I will.” She caught the way Bede watched her go; like he didn’t want her to. She had to have imagine it.

“Careful. She may hiss at you.”

* * *

Hooves thundered across the Soothing Wetlands under a sweltering summer sky. Cornelia charged through the muck with her trainer on her back, and Alice argued the wind through her hair was the best feeling on the planet; wild and free. Behind her, Bede kept pace on his own Pokemon. They hadn’t rode like this in a long time.

They were on a mission. That dojo master Mustard was quicker than she thought, Alice admitted. He knew the secrets the Isle kept so well hidden.

“It’s true, then, that our Galar Champion doesn’t have a Pokémon with a Gigantamax Form?” He’d asked when they reported to him after breakfast.

Alice, under the spotlight, admitted the truth without shame. She managed to become champion without gigantamaxing, so she never felt the need.

“What if I told you your Cinderace could? Then would you be interested?”

Alice thought him off his rocker. “Cinderace don’t have the G Factor.”

He simply laughed at this, then told her she might change her mind if she brought him something called Max Mushrooms. He staked whether she passed or failed training for the day on if she retrieved them.

So that’s how she found herself after some mystery mushrooms on what was possibly the muggiest day of the whole year. Bede accompanied her because he still had a few days grace to recover from his injuries, and didn’t want her alone on some deranged escapade for some eccentric old geezer. Alice didn’t mind one bit.

“Good grief, Teagarten, where are you taking me?” Bede huffed. She brought them to a halt deep, deep along the forest trails to pull out her phone.

“He said they grow in the most humid caves and grottoes,” she said, poking around the map. “I want to try Warm-Up Tunnel.”

He grumbled about the places on the island having such ridiculous names. “You really believe that old coot?”

“He trained Leon.”

“And you _beat_ Leon.”

He fanned his rosy face. Alice watched a drop of sweat travel down his jawline and him wipe it on his shoulder.

“I think it’s time you ditched the undershirt,” she said. She’d be lying if the idea of seeing more of his perfect skin didn’t thrill her, but right now, she didn’t want him to overheat. Why he covered up with so many layers, she didn’t know. Her best guess would be fashion.

Bede adjusted his grip on his ride gear. “Sure, let me strip down right here. Would you mind?”

She glued her eyes to her phone screen as heat pricked her cheeks. Arceus, what the _fuck_ was wrong with her? She wouldn’t survive the day at this rate.

“Look out! Scolipede!”

Panic split her chest and caused her phone to fly back in her bag. The forest erupted with braying as Bede’s Rapidash reared on its hind legs, and Cornelia stomped and snorted. Bede clung with all his might. Alice looked frantically for the giant Unovan centipede, expecting it to burst from any direction. Instead, she saw two boys in dojo robes, on their backs with laughter.

“I can’t believe you fell for that,” one snickered. He had his hair pulled back in a bun. “That scared of some bug Pokémon?”

“Thought you were the strongest gym leader?” This one was ginger and freckled.

Bede hid his grimace well. The old Bede would have lashed out with venom in his voice, but this one gripped Rapidash’s harness tighter and locked eyes with her. She saw humiliation in the vicious curl of his lip.

“I’m leaving.”

He sped past. “Cross the bridge and bear right,” Alice called after him. With him gone and hopefully out of earshot, she turned on the students.

“Ok, you pair of wankers.” The way their eyes popped and their mirth faded brought her extreme pleasure. “Think you can become proud Pokémon trainers with an attitude like that? You’ll never get endorsed at the rate you’re headed, so take the champion’s words to heart and get an adjustment.”

People where cruel to men in pink, and she refused to tolerate it the way Bede learned to. This was no battle, and her Pokémon couldn’t do the talking, unless, of course, Cornelia felt like impaling them on her horn. Alice was not the sort of champion who held her tongue, even when it got her into trouble.

Cornelia added a snort for emphasis, then she stalked into the woods, hoping Bede hadn’t run off and hid again.

* * *

She found him trotting through the lowlands. The sky turned overcast, clouds grey and heavy and the air thicker than thick. It looked ready to rain any second. In the distance was a tunnel through the mountains: their destination.

“You yelled at them, didn’t you?” He asked when she got close.

“I’m the champion. I can put people in their place if I feel like it.”

Bede’s face curdled. “You’ll only make it worse.”

She knew this. It made it look like he couldn’t stand up for himself, that he needed the champion’s protection; that he was weak. He valued his strength above everything because it’s what pulled him from the dregs, out of Rose’s shadow, and into the hearts of thousands. Alice cared too much to stop herself, and that was her hubris.

“You think a few harsh words will change brats like that?” he continued. “We’re not even that much older. Save your breath.”

The whole time he barked at her he pressed onward, head snapped forward, passing herds of Miltank guarded by Tauros without batting a lash. Digging her heels into Cornelia’s flanks, Alice sped up and cut him off.

“You know what? I do,” she said. “You were their age when Opal took you in, and look how you’ve changed.”

He scoffed, but didn’t deny it.

“I open my big, fat mouth because it’s not right, and what kind of champion would that make me if I didn’t say anything? Other people aren’t you. They aren’t as stable or as strong.” He refused to look at her. She feared she’d ruined their outing before it even started. He could turn around if he wanted, but she hoped he chose to stay. “I promise you’re still an insufferable twit. Now, come on.”

They didn’t speak again until they reached Warm-Up Tunnel. Alice waltz straight inside, leaving Cornelia to graze while she pulled her Toxtricity’s ball from her belt.

“Give me some light, Veruka.”

With a croak, she strummed the organ on her chest and gorged her frills with electricity. The walls pulsed yellow like a Spikemuth concert.

“Alice, wait up.” Bede struggled with his dismount. His foot was stuck in the stirrup. Graceful Bede; caught and flustered. It made her chuckle. Once he finally caught up, he narrowed his eyes at her Pokémon. “You sure about that? This place is teaming with ground types.”

“Boomburst will obliterate anything,” Alice said. She didn’t miss his complete three-sixty when he heard what she was running.

Veruka lead the way with her strobing mohawk. Bede went with her to a concert once, under Marnie’s request. It was not his cup of tea to say the least. He complained of his ears ringing the whole rest of the night, and sleep alluding him because of it. But Alice had a blast, as he’d been moshed up against her thanks to the crowd, and she felt some interesting things through his skinny jeans. It might just have been keys and his phone, but she could dream.

“Hey.”

His breath on her neck chilled her despite the dense, overly-humid air. She flipped around. Bede leaned to make up for his height. His eyes were bright and glossy, like gemstones.

“Yes?” She touched the spot to hide how her skin prickled, even though he probably couldn’t see in the murk. Or maybe he could. He did live in Ballonlea, after all.

“I’m not…upset, that you said something to them,” he started. “It’s just rough.”

Him admitting that was more sincere than any apology. What he dealt with on the daily was far from easy. She couldn’t believe the world was still like this.

“Don’t,” she stopped him from extrapolating. She already knew. She knew when she opened her mouth. “You can take care of yourself and I know this. But I swear, if you haven’t pulverized those two twerps to ashes by the end of this bloody regime, I’ll do it myself.”

She loved the way he smirked at her, smug and with a little bit of tooth. Sometimes, she really thought he had a sadistic side, and what a blessing it would be for her to discover it. She wanted to pull him by his waistband and have him do unspeakable things to her against the wall. Why was she like this?

It was so hard to breathe in his presence.

Toxtricity let out another croak from up ahead. She snapped out of it. Right, the mushrooms. The fabled mushrooms that were supposed to Gigantamax her Cinderace. That’s why she was here.

Not to think about Bede shagging her—

No. No, focus Alice.

“Let’s find these mushrooms and get out of here,” she said. “I’m getting hungry.”

Bede snickered like a Morgrem; a bit dark and a bit impish. “Of course you are.”

* * *

“Found them!”

Alice was surprised they existed at all. Deep, deep in the hot, winding tunnels, with only Veruka’s light to see by, she found a cluster growing up the concave wall; three huge, red mushrooms with patterns on the cap oddly similar to dynamax clouds. They didn’t glow like the fungi around Ballonlea, didn’t have that same magic.

“Look, Bede. And here you were skeptical.”

She held one up to him, and her mind squealed like the breaks on a taxi. Bede decided now was the perfect time to take her word for it and peel his undershirt off, working the tight collar over his head. His chest. His _abs_. Holy shit. When did he get that tone? A gulp slid down her throat.

He had a v-line. A perfectly cut v-line notched between his hips.

What the actual _fuck_ was she supposed to do with this information? Sweet lord Arceus, take her now before she died from the blood rush.

“Give me a second,” he said, muffled through the fabric. “Fucking dying over here.”

He wasn’t the only one. She wanted to scream, she was that frustrated. Gathering the last mushroom in the cluster, she marched back the way they came, handing Bede one to examine after he wiggled back into his jersey. The dojo felt so, so far away, but once back, she was running for the hills, desperate for solitude; a cold shower, a battle, _anything_ to distract her from how _horny_ she was today. Did Allie’s Salazzle rub in her sheets, or had she suppressed her feelings so long she could no longer share Bede’s company without becoming some bitch in heat? This amount of thirst was unheard of. It didn’t help he walked so _close_ she could smell his body wash, that minty sweet smell she sometimes got phantom whiffs off when he wasn’t even around. He’d only smell more like it if they…

She wrenched her mind from the gutter. Nope. Nuh-uh. Time for a cold shower.

Except, the cold shower she received was the one the sky dumped on them, trapping both inside the cave.

“Yeah, I’m not riding through that.” Bede nixed her dwindling hope with his sharp words. “Hope you brought snacks, because we’re bunkered down until it’s over.”

They recalled their Rapidash before they shook their manes dry all over them, and Alice withdrew Veruka in exchange for her Dragapult. Arrow was caught in this weather, liked it the best, but Alice had another reason for bringing out her dragon: Bede wouldn’t bring out Hatterene. If he did, his little hair monster would expose her for sure, if not kill her outright.

Arrow curled around her and licked her cheek. She cupped him under his chin. “Hello to you too,” Alice, laughed. “Want something to eat?” His transparent tail swished in delight. Arrow was an absolute brute in battle, but also the prankster of her team. She lost track how often he disappeared only to spook her from behind.

“Can you control that thing?” She hadn’t realized Arrow’s tail kept smacking Bede in the head. Arrow laughed from deep in his bellows and settled on the sandy floor, his trainer following.

“You just don’t like him because he’s dragon type,” Alice said, digging through her oversized bag. She tossed Arrow an apple that he gobbled in one bite, stem and all. Bede turned his nose up at the barbaric action.

“You have a motley crew. No further comment.”

They ate mostly in silence, listening to the drip of rain as it cascaded down the rockface. The downpour was monsoonal and explained the hiked humidity. It wasn’t about to end anytime soon. She would have loved this weather and the cool scales of her Dragapult any other day, but Alice couldn’t help thinking this was all on purpose: payback for meddling in Bede’s personal life. He stretched out not far away, head propped on his arm. Her mind screamed back that Bede was her _friend_ above all else, and she was making all these conclusions up.

“What did you bring?” he broke the silence.

Alice glanced up from trying to place Hop’s location on the map. “Huh?”

“To eat,” Bede elaborated. “What are you eating?”

The wrapper of her energy bar lay crumpled in her lap. “Peanut butter and strawberry bar.” She eyed the weird, shriveled-up thing he was eating. “You?”

“Fruit jerky,” he said. Alice suppressed an eye-roll. Bede loved his organics and strange health foods. She was surprised he even made the heavy breakfast they had. “And some berries.”

She finished a swig of water. “You eat like a Pokémon, you know that?”

“I care what I put in my body,” Bede said, grinning at the knot in her brow. He exchanged the wrapper for an aspear berry and paring knife.

“Didn’t think you carried a knife.”

He carved a piece and ate it off the blade. The inside of the fruit was yellow and juicy. “Yes, me and my paring knife are truly terrifying.”

“Hatterene’s scarier,” she admitted. Please, for her sake, don’t bring her out.

“Oh, definitely,” he agreed, then offered her a slice she happily ate. It was so sour. Her lips wrinkled at the taste, and Bede laughed at her. “What, don’t like it?”

“Do you enjoy eating acid?” she managed.

“How do you think I stay so vile?”

His eyes were a deeper, velvety purple when washed in grey. Alice could lose herself in them if she weren’t careful. She really did wonder if Opal swapped the old Bede out for a changeling, and the ethereal man was only here to bewitch her.

Her phone rang. Finally, the distraction she needed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- I feel like this chapter took so long and I'm sorry, the first three were stockpiled and ready to go  
> \- I want to fix the chapter titles because they don't line up and I dislike that


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “It’s decided, then,” Bede whispered into the mirror, as he stared down his own flushed face and blown-wide pupils that overtook the violet in his eyes. He looked bloody whipped, and the truth was, he was.
> 
> By the end of the summer, the Champion of Galar would be his. He would make sure of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- R:18+, this is where it starts to get a bit smutty  
> \- kept it short because there's no recovering from this depravity (I'm so sorry)

Alice had a fantastic ass, and it looked even more extraordinary on the back of a Rapidash. Bede felt like scum for saying it, but the temptation to drop his posh act and give in to the other side of his emotions was too good. Opal made him a proper gentleman, and he wanted nothing more than to court Alice properly; take her to restaurants and on dates and shower her with affection, but he also wanted to _raw her into the ground_ while she screamed his name. It was a duality that made him hot under the collar and felt so wrong, but so fucking _right_.

This cave was torture. It was unbearably warm, and she’d been funny ever since he yelled at her. Bede wasn’t stupid; he knew she let her dragon roam to keep Hatterene shut in her ball. He shouldn’t have done that. She only cared about him, and as champion, Alice was expected to set examples.

This storm, though? This storm was secretly a blessing. He could finally rest his leg, which still throbbed despite all his denial. And yes, it did bruise. Badly. But the view he had now, well it was so spectacular it made all his pain melt away. Alice really had a summer body. He couldn’t stop his eyes from flitting along her tanned thighs, glad she was so engrossed with eating. Her shorts were too short, he thought. The world shouldn’t be allowed to see so much leg. Only he should. Once she was his, he’d change that.

Heh, yeah right. He’s all bark and no bite.

Bede quite enjoyed himself until her stupid phone rang, and Hop’s annoying voice pierced the air. It dragged him from his reverie kicking and screaming. Couldn’t he fantasize about—dear Arceus—claiming their dear champion in peace?

“Hey, Al.” That dumb nickname of his. “You coming back for lunch?”

“Love too, but,” and she must have flipped the screen around to show him the downpour. “We’re kind of stuck here until this lets up. Might want to cover up camp. It’s headed your way.”

“Roger that, champ. We’ll make sure everything’s dry and secure.” Even though he and Hop were on good terms now, he was still a massive nerd. “By the way, you find those mushrooms?”

“Yeah, but I don’t know. Might get so hungry I’m forced to eat them.”

Bede glanced over and saw her tongue inches away from the red cap.

“Don’t.”

She jumped at his tone, then shot him a glare. “You really thought I’d do that?”

He crossed his arms. “I can never tell with you.”

“Oh, that reminds me,” said Hop. “Don’t go through Courageous Cavern. There’s a pissed-off Druddigon wreaking havoc there.”

Alice gave him a knowing look. “Well, now we know where that dragon fang came from.”

“Huh?”

Bede sighed and crossed into frame. He nearly tripped on Dragapult’s tail because it blended so well into the ground. “Oh, you know, I can’t go on a walk without Sylveon pilfering some poor Pokemon’s item.”

“Ah, that explains it.” Hop’s picture bobbed as he walked. In the background, Zac and Allie could be heard.

“Why didn’t Allie just knock it out?” Alice asked.

“It was so upset, I couldn’t bring myself to,” she spoke up.

“The bay’s pretty off-limits,” Hop explained. “And seeing as its going to rain, we won’t be going back anytime soon.”

Bede thought for a moment, overly aware how close he’d placed himself to Alice. She smelled like strawberry bubblegum. “If you want to return the fang, be my guest. It’s only going to be a chew toy for the rest of eternity.”

“Just to be clear, you’re giving me permission to enter your tent?”

“Yes, Hop, if it fixes the problem.”

He beamed. “You might have just saved our research. We’re almost back, so I’ll let you go. Hope the rain ends soon.”

The call ended, and finally, only the blissful fall of rain echoed through the cave. Bede didn’t mind huddling into Dragapult’s side. The beast was surprisingly cool to the touch. He took a long breath.

“You know, I don’t mind this,” he said, staring out across the lowland.

“Yeah?” Alice said.

“It’s a nice change of pace.”

If only he’d known it was the calm before the real storm.

He watched Alice scroll Rotogram, chastising her when he found out she started following Allie’s page. She didn’t have nearly as many photos, but many of them were of her and Zac, and Bede hated to admit her most recent post, where he was kissing the top of her head so innocently, filled him with jealousy. He could make a move if he wanted to. He could make his dreams reality if he just opened his damned mouth and said a few simple words. But, no, he was a coward, his smarm a defense mechanism. He feared rejection and didn’t deserve Alice at all.

This is the closest he’d ever get; three feet apart on a sandy cave bottom. He was cursed to forever want her, to be haunted by strawberry bubblegum, tight shorts, and bikinis on beach days; never to see what’s underneath, never to kiss her under the sun and make love in the moonlight. His future saw years and years of him meeting her on the pitch and that was it.

He felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw a text from Hop flash across the screen.

_Hey,_ it read. _You might want to check your tent when you get back. There’s something inside I really hope doesn’t belong to you._

What the fuck did Sylveon bring back now?

* * *

He’s disgusting. Filthy. He’s utter trash and deserves to be stepped on.

It’s been two. Days. Two days, and he’s already rutting into his hand like a depraved Sawsbuck. Water from the showerhead ran down his back, dripped from his sopped curls, lashes, and nose. Fuck that fucking Sylveon. Why did Opal even give it to him in the first place?

Bede didn’t want to think about Opal right now.

When he returned to camp, he found it empty. Alice went straight to the dojo, Marnie was out training, and their three play-pretend professors must have gone to tame that Druddigon. And, boy, was Bede glad to be alone.

There was a _thong_. On his _pillow!_

Bede didn’t want to touch it. He didn’t even know if it was clean. But he knew exactly who it belonged to because that little _creature_ was in her tent all morning, and Alice was the only one who didn’t zip up when she left.

He never thought of Alice in such clothing, but now it was all he could picture, especially because it was _pink_ with _mint_ _stripes_. He was about to short-circuit. Why he didn’t return it, he wasn’t sure, but instead he kicked it in the corner like a pervert and hid it under his bags. Then ran straight for the showers.

He hates himself, he says, over and over again in his head, but the friction is just so delicious and so desperately needed right now. He’s panting hot breath against the tile, swallowing moans because he’s in a _public restroom_ and his only privacy is the beige shower stall. That figment of Alice in such a scant little article teases him the entire time. It didn’t help they were his colors.

His fingers grazed his head and he fucking choked. Bright pink and throbbing, he could cum right there, but stilled long enough to drag it out. It always came to this, always; in his hand, by himself, instead of in her like he wanted. The coil in his stomach was ready to snap.

Bede wants it to be her. He wants her so bad. He imagines his hand is her, that she’s kneeling in front of him, giving him the attention he deserves. It’s no fair she gets to dominate the field and he gets nothing in return. He ghosts the tip; that’s her lips. He strokes down his length; that’s her tongue. He cups his balls; her mouth, worshiping every inch of him. She’s wearing that fucking thong.

He came hard enough his vision went white, and he strangled her name in his throat as he threw his head back. The evidence of his deed washed itself down the drain. Bede was left dazed and gasping for air, breathing in steam instead. He chased the aftershocks of his orgasm with quick thrusts of his hips, an orgasm, he argued, that was the best he had in months. With a shaky breath, he finally turned the water off. He hated himself for being so lewd.

Masturbation was not his forte, but Alice always brought him to this brink. If he didn’t relent, he wouldn’t be able to function, let alone battle, and how could he keep his title of strongest Gym Leader in Galar if lust for the champion fogged him to the point he couldn’t tell Moonblast from Psychic?

He liked that idea; Galar’s champion and her Ballonlea leader, an item. He was her last knight, her strongest pawn. Whether she liked it or not, he belonged to her, he was devoted to her, he was her final stand, and if that were the case, then she should be his for the taking.

He toweled himself, slipped into clean boxer-briefs, shorts, flung the rag around his shoulders and left. His mind was clearer, much clearer, borderline sagacious. Somewhere between finding Sylveon’s little _gift_ and streaking the walls white with his own cum, Bede grew some resolve, and a pair of balls.

“It’s decided, then,” he whispered into the mirror, as he stared down his own flushed face and blown-wide pupils that overtook the violet in his eyes. He looked bloody whipped, and the truth was, he was.

By the end of the summer, the Champion of Galar would be his. He would make sure of it.


End file.
